Head Over Heels
by Mekuda
Summary: Silver has always held tender feelings for Princess Blaze. However, he's not sure if she feels the same way after she seemed to have fallen for a dashing prince. When she's captured, Silver contemplates whether or not he should save her. Will the legendary hedgehog run to her aid, or will he let the prince do all of the work? [HIATUS]
1. Author's Note

**_Author's Note:_**

_In about 2009, I wrote a fanfiction called "A Silvaze Story." Of course, it was completely terrible because I was about 10 or so when I wrote it. The entire thing was literally about 3,000 words long. However, I reread it recently and I extremely loved my concept, so I decided to rewrite it. Everything past this is the result~ Obviously. Yay!_

_Unfortunately, my knowledge isn't as extensive of the Sonic world as it used to be, so some of my information might be wrong or misused or something of the like. If so, please tell me. I'm not saying I might exactly change it, but it will definitely help me later on when writing the story. Asfhdjk and please be nice! I won't pay any mind to you if you spit something rude. Thank you so much._

_When I was younger, I wasn't much of a SilverxBlaze fan. I was definitely a pro SonicxAmy. Reading back on all of my old and terrible fanfictions, this was definitely the best out of all of them. Although I'm not much of a Sonic the Hedgehog fan anymore now that I'm older, I would certainly like to write a Sonic and Amy fanfiction. Or maybe a Sonic vs Eggman, considering I'm more of the action-type stylist. I never considered myself good at writing romance, so hopefully I'll succeed with this fanfiction._

_Once I spit out all of the chapters, I'll definitely post the original fanfiction at the end. Let you be warned, it's terrible! Haha, only because I was so young. I have extremely improved since then, I assure you. I'm not exactly sure how this fanfiction is going to turn out, though. I only hope and beg that it will at the least last five chapters. If any less, forgive me. There wasn't much to go by since it was such a short story/concept._

_Either way, I hope you enjoy the fiction! I would greatly appreciate any comments or critiques. Thank you so much!_


	2. Practically Obsessed

Chapter One: Practically Obsessed

The sunlight glimmered beautifully on the land of Mobius. The sun was slowly setting as it baked the castle grounds in a sea of gold, along with the rest of the province. Blaze and Silver sat together in the castle gardens and watched the burrowing sun together like they had been planning for a while. It was rare for the two to get together like this, considering they were always so busy. However, instead of speaking to each other like common friends normally would, they only sat in silence. The two were so familiar with each other that they didn't need words to converse. They talked with their expressions and their actions. They found peace by just being near the other. They had been friends for years, so it was natural for them to feel this way.

Yet Silver began to feel uneasy in the silence. There was something that he had wanted to confess for a long while, most likely since the two met. He was never sure how to tell her, and he figured he might as well offer up the take during the sunset. A sunset was romantic, so maybe she'd be flattered by the scenery and she would feel the same way. His eyes shifted from the elegant crimson of the sun and turned to look at Blaze. The sun glistened beautifully against her lavender fur. He sympathetically smiled and suddenly began to feel his heart race. He couldn't just blurt it out; he had to build up the moment and end it with a strong climax, like in the books. "I wish we could sit together every day and watch the sunset like this," he amicably stated.

"Me too," Blaze whispered. She gazed wistfully at the sun, not wanting to say anything else to her dear, old friend. Unfortunately, she constantly had to remind him of her duties, considering he never fully came to comprehend her responsibilities. He was just as busy as her, yet he always seemed to have time for lying around like this. The feline couldn't understand how he was so lucky as to relax so much, and was slightly jealous. She let out a heavy sigh and blinked. "Unfortunately, it's my duty as the princess to protect these people. I scarcely have time to relax anymore as time progresses. You know that."

"Yeah… I know." Silver sat in silence once more, realizing the awkwardness of the conversation. That obviously wasn't the right thing to bring up. Blaze always held such a pessimistic personality, but he didn't judge her for it. The pale hedgehog looked out at the sunset again, not wanting to look at her anymore. Her sight made his heart race. He decided to spill his feelings, despite the princess' irritation. "Blaze, I have something extremely important to tell you."

The feline quickly jerked her head to look at him with concern, completely unknowing of what it could possibly be and fearing the worst. "What is it?"

His heart wouldn't stop beating. He could practically feel it jumping out of his chest and began to wonder if Blaze could see it happening. His skin tingled as he opened his mouth to speak again. He could feel his face flushing with crimson. He was finally about to tell the love of his life how he felt about her, and with all his heart he hoped that she truly felt the same. "I don't know how to tell you this, but I … I-"

"Princess!" An interrupting voice called in the distance. It was one of Blaze's butlers, rushing as fast as his feeble legs could take him. He came to an immediate halt behind the two and breathed heavily. "Princess, you know you're not to be out this late. You will come with me at once!"

Silver scoffed and leaned back into the grass, using his arms as a headrest. He was in no mood to listen to any other nonsense that butler had to say. Sunset wasn't very late at all, not to mention that she was still inside castle grounds. It wasn't that fair at all. However, he wouldn't dare make any rude comments towards one of Blaze's royal servants. That would be entirely uncivil.

Blaze huffed and stood up, then carefully brushed the dirt off of her clothes. She looked back at Silver one last time and forced a crooked smile. "Sorry, Silver. You'll have to tell me some other time." She lightly pouted, disappointed at the fact that she would have to wait to hear what he would say. Her footsteps heavily trailed behind her butler's as she trudged back to the castle.

Silver stared up at the sky and sighed. He was so close. The moment had finally approached and he let it slip so easily from his fingers. The hedgehog forced himself up and his eyes trailed off to the sunset. How red it was, like his burning passion. Maybe out of anger due to the fact that he regretted not being able to admit his love, or maybe it was for the love that he held so dearly for the princess. The hedgehog let out another heavy and disappointed sigh. Next time. He forced himself up onto his feet and began to make his long journey back to his home. He could always fly back to his cottage, but he was now too bad in a mood to even lift himself up in the air. Instead, he drug his feet through the streets to walk back to his house.

The sky was now dark and the lights of the street lanterns guided his way. He observed groups of people pass by as he made his way home. Old people, young people, families, friends, couples. Happy couples. That could have been he and Blaze holding hands just now. Or he could have been like that couple who just walked by, smiling and laughing at nonsense. But no. Unfortunately, they both had difficult duties to abide in and couldn't abandon their tasks. Besides, she was a princess. It would be preposterous for a breed of high royalty like her to have feelings for such a mere hedgehog of low standards. It was pointless to confess to her. They could never truly be together or get married or anything of the like, no matter how much he desired it. He'd just have to remain as her loyal friend. Just a friend.

Silver plodded into his house and collapsed on his soft, comforting bed. He was exhausted from the disappointing day and only desired to sleep, but his regret wouldn't let him. As much as he pondered the idiotic thought of only being friends, the hedgehog completely desired to tell her. Maybe if he confessed, he'd feel lifted from his downing spirits. He almost managed to tell her today, yet he was so far from that confession. Sleep wouldn't exist for him that night.

* * *

Silver stretched as he woke up from the early sunlight beaming through his window. He hardly slept a wink due to his stress. The hedgehog rubbed his eyes and sat up. His bed was a complete mess, probably from kicking so much. Whenever he didn't sleep well, he always tended to rustle around his bed. He'd have to fix it later. The hedgehog forced himself from his bed and strode towards his window. There he could clearly see the tall and proud castle out in the distance. The sky was painted a beautiful blue with fluffy clouds that complimented the fortress. Somehow, the castle gave him hope for the new day. Maybe he would try again and succeed in telling the princess his feelings. Then again, maybe he would fail once more. Maybe he shouldn't tell her at all and they could just remain friends.

His stomach suddenly growled, which entirely interrupted his thoughts. It was about time for breakfast, according to his stomach. Silver quickly rushed out of his humble abode and began to make his way to one of the local cafés. He passed through streets and crossed bridges and intercepted small parks. There were other cafés closer by, but he liked this one the most because the beautiful Blaze visited there most frequently.

In a matter of minutes he arrived at the scene, and there she sat in the furthest booth in the café. She quietly sipped her coffee and picked at her breakfast. Thankfully, she was unattended by any servants or butlers or bodyguards, so their conversation would easily go uninterrupted for a while until the servants arrived once more. Silver casually strolled to her booth and sat in the seat across from her, leaning his elbows on the table and placing his head in his hands. He playfully snickered as the feline looked up at him. "You look extremely busy, Princess," the cocky hedgehog teased, referring to the conversation the night before.

Blaze giggled and shook her head, looking back down at her food. "You never look busy," she stated, almost wistful. Yet she looked up at him and gracefully grinned a breathtaking smile, which she rarely kept locked on her face. "What are you doing all the way out here?" She asked, catching her friend by surprise.

He nervously chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I came to get some breakfast, of course," although that was a folly excuse, considering there were multiple cafés down in his own area. He struggled to look for a sensible reason. "I just enjoy the food up here better than the cafés closer to my home. They don't have the things I like."

Blaze raised an eyebrow. "This place is far too expensive for your taste," she innocently pestered. Silver's stomach growling could clearly be heard from her seat, causing her to awkwardly smirk. "I suppose I could buy you something, only if you promise to repay me."

Silver graciously smiled. He hadn't intended to come up there only for her to buy him a meal, but it would have to do considering he was so starving.

The two sat together and ate together, just like everyone else in the café did. They talked and laughed as people passed by, almost surprised to see that the princess was out in a public area. People watched them in awe, wondering how such a hedgehog as lucky as Silver could be to sit down with the famous Blaze the Cat. However, they weren't surprised at all, considering it had been known they were friends since birth. So they only passed by, watching the two joke and familiarly converse with their friend. This was far better than sitting in silence.

They soon finished their meals, and the two of them sat in silence, unknowing what to say. Blaze's eyes drifted from her plate and looked up at Silver, who was staring out at the rest of the customers in the café. The thought suddenly occurred to her- that hedgehog was never able to finish what he was going to say the evening before. "Hey, Silver," she suddenly whispered, interrupting their silence. The cat leaned forward, looking the utmost concerned. "What was it you were going to tell me?"

Silver's heart stopped. What awful timing. He couldn't tell her, not here. Not in a café. Not with all of these people about. Not with everyone staring. Or at least they would, if he spoke. What if he confessed and his love was only turned down? How awful that would be. The hedgehog would be mortified. Silver's troubled eyes trailed down from the crowd to his table. "Uh… uh…" He couldn't think of anything sensible to say. His fingers were trembling and his face began to grow hot. "I forgot!" He suddenly stood up without warning and looked back at the door. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave! Something important came up that I forgot about!" And he sped out of the café before another word could be said.

He dashed out onto the sidewalk and stopped to stare up at the tree's leaves, which so elegantly floated about in the wind. How embarrassing that was! She would definitely suspect something now, and would most certainly approach him later about the situation. He'd have to lie to her, no matter how difficult it would be. Silver couldn't help but feel pathetic. He was capable of so many things, but he couldn't tell a simple girl about how he felt.

"Silver, wait!" Blaze's familiar voice begged. He turned around to see her racing towards him as fast as she could.

Silver's heart beat at a rapid pace. Could this be it? Could this be a confession from the love of his life? He began to feel lightheaded and butterflies stirred about in his stomach as he patiently waited for her to approach him. He had been waiting for this practically since they met, and now it was finally coming true. Was it? Or maybe he left something, and she was only coming to him to return it. He suddenly felt calm again, realizing it wasn't what he wanted. There was no possible way she could ever confess anything like that to him whether she wanted to or not; a princess was entitled to marry royalty. Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to taste that sweet romance he longer for.

Besides, it would have been absolute terrible if Blaze confessed a love that Silver wasn't able to. He'd never be able to tell her about how shy he was, and it would haunt him for the rest of his life. It was only fair that she didn't confess to him; he had to confess to her first. Silver took a deep breath, realizing how utterly hopeless he was. It was amazing how the princess was able to put up with his overly dramatic nonsense.

Blaze slowed to a stop and began to dig into her pouch for something. Silver eagerly waited, wondering what he could have possibly left behind in that café, if anything at all. She then lifted a snow white envelope and handed the folded paper to him. The hedgehog only stared at it. He didn't believe to have left this behind at all. He suddenly looked up in confusion at the grinning princess and couldn't help but smile back at her. "What is this?" He asked with an awkward snicker, trying to perceive the sense of the matter.

"An invitation," Blaze simply stated. "I want you to come to my ball at 8:00 pm tomorrow! That's how you can repay me for the breakfast I bought for you." She bashfully turned her head away and shyly rubbed her arm. "I was going to invite you, anyway."

Silver felt his face slightly blush. Maybe this was a secret offer of the princess' compassion. That had to be it. She couldn't confess anything so rash in front of anyone, so she had to do it through an envelope. Or maybe he was being too bold about his fantasies again. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but feel flattered. The letter remained unopened as he stared down at it, wondering of the contents inside. "Go to the ball? With you? Like … like as your date?" He suddenly asked. Oi! Why did he ask something so idiotic?

"Tch, no. You're one of my guests of honor." She snickered. Silver became completely relaxed again, although extremely disappointed. He should have known. Blaze lightly punched her friend in the shoulder. "I want you to wear something extremely nice, something that will make all of the ladies fall for you."

Silver smirked. "Please, Blaze. The ladies are always after me." Augh. Another embarrassing and useless thing to say. It only made him look like a jerk. He wanted to punch himself. He brushed off the mortifying remark with a sly chuckle and nodded. "I'll be there, then," he reassured, disregarding the imbecile comment he made. Maybe if Silver was lucky, Blaze had already forgotten.

"You have to promise."

"What?" Silver was surprised by her sudden change in emotion. He stared down at her, and she looked up at him with eyes of determination. She was ultimately serious about this proposal, although he would have gladly arrived to her ball no matter what.

"Promise," Blaze repeated, this time with an almost unnoticeable smile.

Her eyes glistened in the light of the day, and the sun beamed beautifully on her flawless coat. Silver would have liked to reach his hand out and stroke the side of her face, but that would most likely scare her or make her feel uncomfortable. Instead, he admired her beauty from afar like he so commonly did. He admired her eyes and her smile and her fur and her clothes. The princess was the most elegant sight that anyone could even begin to lay eyes on, and he was fortunate enough to be able to do that at that very moment. How he wished to confess to her at that moment, but he would keep it to himself.

Silver nodded. "Of course I promise, Blaze," he said, his voice smooth and harmonious.

Blaze's eyes lit up with utter joy. He couldn't even remember the last time he had seen her so happy. "Thank you, Silver!" She cheered, quickly moving forward into an unexpected hug. She let go and moved back before he could even return the embrace, and she was already retreating back to the castle. She looked back at Silver one last time before truly departing the scene. "You better keep your word!" She yelled, and then she turned away again.

Silver watched her walk away before retreating from the scene. He eagerly opened the envelope and his eyes darted across the paper. The contents inside of the invitation were nothing but the location of the party- her castle… and the time, which she mentioned before. "_Dress nice!_" It read at the bottom with Blaze's signature. Although it wasn't a confession, it was better than nothing at all. He would be able to make acquaintance with her family and friends, and then maybe it would be more publicly acceptable for them to be together. Silver shook his head. He and his foolish fantasies were growing on his nerves.

* * *

**Hopefully, the rest of the chapters won't be so short. Although Silver was never perceived as a hopeless romantic, I couldn't help but make him one in this story. I'm not much of a romance-type writer, so hopefully I constructed this well.**


	3. Intruders

Chapter Two: Intruders

The preparations for the ball took place throughout the day. Decorations were hung all over the ball room and tables were placed along the walls for beverages and such. Ribbons were strung from every corner to the back of every chair to the leg of every table to the doors to the stairs to the windows to everything. Blaze wanted this ball to be elegant, so ribbons were most certainly a necessary item in her case. The floors were swept and scrubbed to the point of being sparkling clean, as well as the towering windows. Even some of the tables were scrubbed down.

It was just peaking noon when Blaze decided to stop supervising the workers. She made her way up the staircase and retreated into her room. It was about time she was fitted into her attire. The maids rushed to the princess' aid, carrying her amethyst dress and laying it out neatly on the queen sized bed. Blaze's eyes lit up in awe, staring at the embellishments on her gown. It was absolutely breathtaking. The princess was never entitled to wear such clothing considering she had never taken a liking to dresses. However, throwing a ball required something different than from her normal attire, so a dress would do her perfectly. Although she had never liked dresses, she instantly fell in love with this one.

One of her maids quickly undressed the princess from her normal attire and slid the dress onto the feline, lacing up the back. Blaze stared at herself in the mirror, admiring the gorgeous reflection it revealed. Blaze lightly smiled at her beauty. Her eyes suddenly trailed down to her maid, who had quite the opposite expression. The servant looked somewhat horrified, but Blaze couldn't fathom why the character would be so fearful when quickly approaching a wonderful night. "What seems to be the matter?" The princess asked with the utmost concern, fearing the worst as always.

The maid looked up at the princess in shock, suddenly forcing a wide and awkward smile and struggling to find words. "N-nothing, Miss Blaze! I, uh … just … poked myself with the needle, is all!" It was plainly obvious the maid was hiding something. She began to break out into a nervous sweat and clenched her teeth as tightly as she could, although the anxious smile never ceased from her face.

Blaze cocked an eyebrow and now turned away from the mirror, facing her servant. She placed her hands on her hips and glared down at the feeble figure. The cat definitely portrayed frightening attributes whenever she wanted something, for the maid's legs began to shiver. Blaze's eyes narrowed and she scowled down at the weak girl. "Don't you dare lie to your princess. Tell me what's wrong immediately, and this had better not be a joke," the feline hissed, bearing her teeth.

The servant immediately fell to her knees and lifted her hands into prayer, practically begging the princess for forgiveness. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to deceive you!" She suddenly cried. Her eyes moved from the floor and now looked up at Blaze. "You see, while I was working earlier in the day I noticed a suspicious looking monkey peeking through one of our windows, and this continued throughout the day since this morning."

Blaze's ears perked. "Was it possibly an invited guest?" Blaze asked in wonder.

The maid shook her head as if she had a clue on who it was, though she didn't have the slightest idea. Her mood suddenly changed; she switched from testy to a more agitated nature. Her eyes shifted around the room and she stood up again. The servant closed in on the princess and began to whisper into her ear. "He didn't look like any ordinary monkey. He looked like…" the maid moved in closer. "… a robot."

Blaze's eyes widened. She suddenly looked down at the maid in utter shock, unsure of how to handle the situation. "Who knows what that fiend could be plotting? This could be a serious problem. Why didn't you inform me earlier?" Blaze growled through her teeth.

The maid ducked down into her prayer position again and deeply bowed her head. "Please forgive me, Miss Blaze! I didn't know what to do! I'm sorry!"

The princess let out a deep sigh. She ran her fingers through the maid's hair and offered a benevolent and comforting smile. "It's alright. I'll ask some of our soldiers to take guard around the castle. They'll be sure to protect us from whatever that dastardly thing is. You have nothing to worry about," she assured, following with a light giggle. However, the idea of an unknown robot that had already been roaming around the castle since dawn worried the princess. What could that creature possibly want? It made her entirely uneasy to know that the tin can was doing as it pleased around the fortress. She would need far more than just guards to protect them, depending on what that robot was planning.

The maid nodded and stood up, accepting the forgiveness. Her nervous expression never departed from her face. She poked her fingers together, looking for something else to say. "What do I do if I see it again? Or if it breaks in? What do I do then?"

Blaze placed a sturdy hand on the young lady's shoulder and squeezed it, doing her best to do whatever she could to make the servant feel better. "I want you to scream as loud as you can, alright? And the guards will dash to your rescue," Blaze confirmed. She stared into the maid's eyes with motherly content and then patted the servant on the shoulder. "Now go finish preparing for tonight's ball. We're running on about seven hours left." Blaze watched the maid bow and run out of the door, leaving the princess to herself.

Blaze sighed and moved away from the mirror. She only begged for a day of peace, and this was the result; a robotic monkey crawling around the premises. How stressful. Blaze cautiously moved over to the window and gazed out of it, her eyes searching for even a glimpse of this 'animal.' But it was nowhere to be seen. The feline picked up a pair of binoculars, now searching even harder for this creature. In the distance out in the streets of the town, her curious eyes landed on a certain creature. Not the monkey, however, but Silver. He was walking along the streets, most likely shopping for that tuxedo Blaze wanted him to buy. She watched him until he disappeared inside one of the stores, taking note of his location.

* * *

Silver made his way to one of the clothing stores in order to make his first purchase of a tuxedo. It was a nice store. An expensive store. Normally, he wouldn't dare wander into such territory, but he greatly desired to impress the princess. He wasn't exactly sure what to do in such a foreign place or how to buy such a tuxedo of high value, but he hoped that whoever ran the store would be sure to benevolently come to his aid. And to his expectations, he was immediately greeted by one of the workers with a welcoming smile. "Ahhh, you're the silver hedgehog in which the princess begged to assist. Let me help you, friend," the servicer offered, walking off into the store once more.

Silver stood there awkwardly, unknowing of what action to take next. It had most certainly taken him by surprise that Blaze had already known where he was going and called for help before asking of his consent, but nonetheless he was grateful that she had taken such quick and impressive action. As usual. The nervous hedgehog's eyes darted around the store, spying exotic clothing he normally would never dream of purchasing considering most of it was either mortifying or preposterous. He wasn't used to such attire, but this was apparently what royals and riches wore.

"How about this?" The aid asked, pulling out a ludicrous tuxedo. Silver felt a drop of sweat roll down his face as he rapidly shook his head in protest. There was no possible way he would ever be seen wearing that. The assistant nodded and disappeared once more into the store.

The silver hedgehog was again left standing alone in the front of the shop. Maybe he should look around, help himself. Silver began to stride throughout the racks of clothes, searching through what was what. Everything was far too expensive, although he could afford it. The problem was that he didn't intend on spending so much. However, that was entirely his fault for entering the store in the first place. Now that Blaze was secretly helping him, he felt entitled to buying some sort of clothing from that store, no matter the cost.

Several times the servicer reappeared and several times the customer turned the clothes down. It seemed that no matter what was brought out, it was never to Silver's taste. It was a mistake entering that blasted store. The time was nearly five o'clock and he had dillydallied more than two hours away aweing at half of the materials and scoffing at the other half. It was about time he exited the store- but just as he was about to leave, the aid took a tight grip onto Silver's arm, stopping him.

"Oh, please wait!" The aid begged with his face masked in agony. "There must be absolutely something I can find! Just give me one more chance!"

Silver sighed and nodded, watching the assistant light up in merriment as he dashed right back into the store. Silver was exhausted by that point, although he hadn't done a thing. He flopped down into one of the chairs but immediately came up into a stand again, for the aid had already returned. "What's this?" Silver pondered, gawking at the tuxedo. It was simple, not all fancy and overdone like the rest of the clothing. The tuxedo was black; it came with a tailcoat, slacks, a long tie, vest, matching shoes, and a white cotton button-up shirt. This was what Silver had in mind the entire time. "I wish you had brought this to me first. I'll take it!"

The assistant smiled so wide that Silver almost thought the character's face would split. In a heartbeat, the worker raced to the cash register and rang up the clothing. Silver's eyes widened once looking at the prices. These were the most expensive pieces of clothing he had ever laid eyes on, yet they were the most simplest of pieces. Just as he was about to change his mind, the worker spoke again, "no need to worry about the expenses. According to the princess, everything is already taken care of."

Silver sighed in relief and nodded. In the next moment, the bags of his purchased items were handed to him and he was heading out the door. Now all he had to do was go home and put it on, and he would later have hours to spare before the ball even started. Maybe wasting his time in there wasn't so bad after all. It gave him something to do that day. Silver's eyes looked up at the sky and wondered what Blaze was doing herself. Most likely worrying over every little task that had to be done for the ball, not to mention the rest of her duties she had to fulfill that day. It was amazing with what she had to do day in and day out that she even had time for a ball.

Silver suddenly stopped. Flowers. Maybe he should get her some flowers. Those were extremely romantic. He read about it all the time in books about how the damsel would always fall head over heels for a ring of flowers. Silver quickly turned on the nearest upcoming road and dashed into the next part of town, heading straight for the flower shop. Blaze had already technically bought his suit but she would never expect flowers. It was a perfect redemption!

He scurried into the floral shop and looked about in the store, already having a bushel in mind. Purple biennials- those were her favorites; Silver's favorites as well. His eyes darted to the back of the room, spotting a vase sitting neatly all by itself. Inside that vase was a bundle of the most elegant purple biennials, ready to be purchased. The hedgehog quickly made his way to the back and lifted them up, then brought them up to the counter. "I'll be happy to take these, please!" Silver informed with a bright smile.

The lady looked up from what she was doing and returned the smile. "Alright, hand them here." She carefully took the flowers and removed them from the pot. She then proceeded to wrap the stems in a violet silk ribbon and handed them back to the hedgehog. Silver quickly paid her and was set on leaving, but the florist seemed interested in what he was doing with all of those flowers. "Going on a date?" She cooed, leaning her elbows on the table and resting her head in her hands.

Silver's face immediately flushed as he looked away from her. "N-Not exactly," he stammered, searching for words. "Princess Blaze invited me to the ball and I was hoping to give them to her."

The girl's eyes lit up, but they became more narrowed. "How lucky that someone like you would be invited to such a place of high royalty. You must be that Silver guy, then," she whistled. The florist fluttered her eyelashes as she looked Silver up and down as if she were studying him. "I heard that a famous prince is going."

Silver was really in no mood to speak to anyone, but he had time to spare. The hedgehog leaned on the counter to the lady's amusement, although he greatly desired to bolt out of the exit doors. "Oh really?"

The lady nodded. "Prince Rallas. A beautiful man, really. I've only seen him in magazines and I read that he's super romantic!" Her face began to turn red and she turned her face away out of sheer embarrassment. However, her attitude suddenly changed as she slammed her fist on the table, startling the poor hedgehog. "But I heard that he's planning on proposing to the princess! It's not fair!" The girl's eyes darted from the counter to look up at Silver again. "There's no doubt in my mind she'll say yes!"

"… What makes you think that?"

"Because…" she whispered "… I heard that they go on frequent dates. It's just a rumor, though. But why wouldn't she marry him? They're both rich and have a lot in common and of high royalty- there's no way she'd marry some peasant." Her words almost seemed to mock Silver, although it wasn't her intentions.

Silver's heart was pounding. He only nodded and thanked her for the flowers before heading out. How long had this been going on? Who was this other man? Blaze and Silver told each other everything, so she would have most definitely told him about a dashing prince. Maybe she wasn't interested in Prince Rallas. They were only rumors, after all. Blaze would have told him about something as important as this. Besides, she constantly said she wasn't into marriage.

Silver's eyes slightly widened and he stopped in his tracks. Maybe it wasn't a ball. Maybe it was a wedding. Maybe that Rallas guy had already proposed to her on one of their special trips and they were going to get married tonight. Silver suddenly dropped his bag and flowers, struck with utter fear. He took a deep breath. He was getting ahead of himself. Blaze would have told him about something like that. He quickly picked up his items again and scurried off once more, making his way to his home. He was foolish for thinking such things.

It was now six in the evening. Silver had already dressed himself in his suit, although it was a little early for that. He was merely observing himself, making sure he looked absolutely perfect. He frequently adjusted his clothing and fur, but something always seemed to be wrong with how he looked. He couldn't have any flaws. Silver had to do whatever it took to show up that Rallas guy!

Silver walked up to the window and looked out at the castle. The sun was setting right behind it at the north gate where he and Blaze watched the sunset the previous evening. It was such a beautiful scene to look at. Silver could sit there all day and watch the setting of the sun, but there was hardly ever any time for that. He was lucky that he even had time for the ball tonight.

All of a sudden, Silver thought he sensed something; something out in the distance. It wasn't much that he was sensing something, but more that it was a calling- a calling for him. What was it? Although the ball was quickly approaching, Silver knew that it was his duty to check out any problem. He regrettably fled from his home and flew high into the air, looking for wherever this strange noise inside his head was coming from. Most certainly it wasn't coming from his head. It was just that he was the only one who could hear it. None of the other people in town were alerted by it, or so he observed.

The noise grew louder and louder as Silver flew over the town. It was coming through the nearby forest just outside the town's walls. He glided over to the tress, the noise's volume elevating in sound. It was almost becoming unbearable, but that didn't dare stop him. He landed with his feet planted firmly onto the ground. His cautious eyes trailed from one tree to the other, completely circling himself, looking for that noise.

However, to his surprise it suddenly stopped. Everything became silent. It was almost frightening, as if someone had led him there. "Hello? Is someone there?" He asked. There was a sudden eerie laugh rising out of the depths of the forest. Silver took a fighting stance, ready to attack at whatever was coming for him. "Show yourself!"

For the longest time Silver stood there amongst the trees, waiting for the figure to approach, but no one showed up. Silver finally let go of his posture, supposing that maybe they had disappeared. It was probably a mistake to have let them run away. Who knows what they were plotting out in the woods and what they were going to do next? Or maybe they weren't doing any harm at all. Silver let out a deep, frustrated sigh, realizing he had failed his mission by letting them escape. The hedgehog turned around to leave, but to his surprise there was a large, scaling robot standing behind him. He stared at it with mouth agape, frozen by fear, having never seen such a strange robot before.

The robot slowly lifted his hand, almost glitch-like, and suddenly thrust its fist into Silver's stomach, sending him flying into the opposite tree. The hedgehog slammed into it with a loud thud and slid down the bark. He roughly forced himself back up to his feet, realizing he was truly going to have to fight. In his tuxedo. Which Blaze technically bought for him. That he was going to wear to the ball. What terrible timing! But there was no use in running away at a time like this; he had to stop whatever this monster was doing.

"Who are you?!" Silver asked, although not looking so threatening after just recently having the wind knocked out of him. The laugh sounded again, almost monotone yet there was a hint of different pitches in it. The robot came near Silver once more, but the hedgehog was careful to watch the robot's every move this time.

The robot didn't bother to answer Silver's question. It lifted its arm again and swung at Silver, but the hedgehog quickly dodged and flew behind the metal fiend. He then used his telekinesis to lift a large tree, uprooting it from the dirt. The robot watched in awe at the amazing power. Silver let out a grunt as he swung it at the figure, hitting it square in the chest. The beast went flying into another tree, knocking it down to the floor. Silver then lifted the levitating tree high over his head and brought it down on top of the robot.

However, the robot was far too quick. It suddenly moved out of the way of Silver's attack. The hedgehog swiftly turned around to look at the creature and all of a sudden it drug its claws through the chest of Silver's tuxedo. It managed to rip the front of his clothing and a bit of his skin, but it was only a minor injury.

The tin machine unexpectedly started to throw rapid punches towards the hedgehog. Silver continuously backed away to avoid injury, moving back and forth in the midst of the air over the forest. Unfortunately, he was quickly growing tired and began to grow slower and slower with his pace.

The enemy came to notice Silver's slowing movements. It suddenly stopped attacking at Silver and balled its fists together. It then flashed in front of the hedgehog and before Silver could even react, the robot smashed his metal hands on top of the hedgehog's skull. Silver let out a cry of pain as his now limp body dived back towards the surface, knocking two or three trees out of his path and sending dirt flying into the air. Silver bounced off of the hard soil and came to a stop in a small opening in the forest. He was completely unconscious, having suffered a severe concussion on his head and blood pouring onto the grass.

The robot sank down to the forest level, just barely hovering over the hedgehog. It was most likely that the animal wasn't about to get up, so it quickly turned and fled from the scene, heading back to the castle.

* * *

**I'm not exactly sure who the robots are based off of my old story. I think I was referring to the Metarex from the Sonic X television series, so I'm going to follow up with them and hope that's what it was.**


	4. The Unwanted Guest

Chapter Three: The Unwanted Guest

The clock struck ten at night and Silver was still nowhere to be found. Blaze grew anxious for her friend, but at the same time she was profoundly irritated that he had yet to arrive. Had he possibly forgotten about the ball? Surely he couldn't have forgotten about something as important as this. Besides, he promised and that hedgehog never broke a promise. Maybe he was held up and was running late. Unbearably late. He didn't even bother to send a note telling her that he would be at a late arrival. Where could that hedgehog be?

Blaze paced back in forth along the ballroom, although she tried her hardest not to look so distraught in front of her people. When someone passed by, she lightly smiled at them and politely curtsied. Every character who passed by her held no resemblance towards the white hedgehog. Her stomach was growing sick and she was edging towards the upmost provoked nature that she almost couldn't control herself. If Silver didn't show up in a matter of minutes she was sure to explode.

One of her loyal butlers came into her path and Blaze immediately took the opportunity to ask if he had even seen a glimpse of Silver's precious face. The servant shook his head with a small frown. "I'm sorry, Miss Blaze. I haven't seen him all night, at least not yet," he reassured with a nod of his head. It didn't seem to lighten the princess one bit. "I'm positive he'll arrive shortly."

"If you see him, please inform me right away," Blaze commanded. She waved the butler off and returned to her troubled pace, Silver never leaving her thoughts. It never occurred to her that maybe he was off fulfilling his duties as the protector of the kingdom. After all, it was his job. Silver was always off fighting enemies and foes. Maybe he was somewhere doing that now and was too tangled to show up. At the least, that calmed Blaze down quite a bit, but now she was worried of his whereabouts and of his condition and if he would even bother to show up after a tiring battle. Oh, how she desired to know where that hedgehog was!

In the midst of her frustration, she flopped down into one of the seats located on the ballroom walls. She couldn't even bear to stand after consuming herself with stress. She needed to relax, to enjoy her party. It wasn't all about Silver, after all. It was only a party that she needed to engage herself in. It was to _release_ her from stress. Instead, she was too busy worrying over her friend. Silver would be alright. He would show up later, of course. He promised. Silver, no matter what, always kept his promises.

"Not having fun at your own ball?" A sudden voice asked. Blaze's sorrowful eyes lifted up to look at the all-famous Prince Rallas. She had recognized him in various magazines and papers. He lived in a far off kingdom, so it was rare to see him at her party, although Blaze _had_ invited him. The prince held the most sincere of a gaze, yet a comforting smile was locked onto his face. "Is there something troubling you, Princess Blaze? You don't look so well."

The princess was startled that the prince saw through her so easily. She had worked extremely hard the past two hours since her ball started to mask a face of joy, but it had apparently failed in Rallas' presence. She bashfully smiled and shook her head, trying to reassure him, or maybe she was trying to reassure herself. However, it was plainly obvious she was lying, so she decided to come out and admit her troubles. "Well you see, Prince Rallas … I have a close friend who promised to be here and he's yet to arrive. He never breaks his promises. What if he forgot? Or what if something terrible happened to him?!" She shouted, standing up in her seat and practically knocking the chair down. Now she was frantic and she needed to calm down before her attitude got worse.

Prince Rallas only stared at her with concern, wondering what he could possibly do to help her. "You need to get your mind off of him. I'm sure he'll turn about soon enough," Rallas confirmed in comfort. He suddenly flaunted his golden magazine smile and held out a hand to the princess. "How about a dance? That would be sure to distract you from your thoughts."

Blaze shook her head and stared at the ground, feeling that she should wait for the hedgehog. However, her gaze trailed to his offered hand and looked up at his eyes. How soft and alluring they were. She couldn't help but blush and take a hold of his hand. The prince led her out into the ballroom and firmly placed one hand on her waist. Blaze placed a dainty hand on his shoulder and stared up at the prince as they slowly moved one foot out, following by another foot, moving together in unison. They spun along the floor as people danced all around them, casually taking a glance at the prince and the princess. Eventually, Blaze and Rallas were given their floor space as they waltzed across the ballroom, looking ever so elegant in their royal nature.

Another few hours had passed since Rallas and Blaze met and they had practically danced the entire time. They spun themselves into the sidelines and let out fluttering giggles as they finally forced themselves to stop. Blaze fixed her hair while trying to regain her breath from all of the fun she just had. "I can't even remember the last time I've had so much fun. You're quite the dancer," she complimented, eyeing the prince up and down.

Rallas snickered and placed a hand over his chest as he fell into a slight bow. "Why, thank you, Princess Blaze. You're quite the dancer, yourself."

They both let out another chuckle against the loud music and surrounding laughter and talk about them. Maybe it was time to make their leave until the ballroom cleared up a little. "Come on!" Blaze exclaimed as she grabbed the prince's hand and led him out of the room, dragging him out onto the balcony. They would be granted their privacy outside under the glistening of the stars. Blaze placed both hands on the rail of the balcony and looked out at the lights of the kingdom, taking in all of its glory. "I just love coming out here at night and taking a gander at the city," she whispered. She looked up at Rallas to see that he was taking a good look of the view as well.

Rallas nodded and placed his hands in his pockets. "A beautiful kingdom, you have. Maybe one day _I'll_ throw a ball and you can take a look at _my_ kingdom." He looked at her and smiled his clever little smile through his teeth. It was becoming so common that Blaze was beginning to believe that he never frowned. Rallas now leaned with his back against the rail and looked back inside at the merry crowd dancing and laughing. His eyes seemed to follow one couple in particular, although they held no importance to him. As he watched them, something began to dawn on him. "Has your friend arrived at all?"

The question reverted Blaze back to her worry. She gripped the rail and shook her head and whispered a "no" that the prince barely seemed to hear.

"So what makes him so special?" The prince abruptly inquired. "Do you love him?"

Blaze pouted and tilted her head away from him. "You know, all of these questions you're asking are rather rude," she huffed. However, these questions began to dawn on her, and she herself wondered if she held feelings for the hedgehog. She always thought of him as a close friend or something rather, but nothing as far as a lover. Blaze never thought about things like that. Her mind was always focused on the kingdom and what should be done within it. She didn't have time to think about such folly things. But now that she was in the moment… "To be honest, I don't know how I feel about him."

They sat in a moment of silence together. The music flowing from the ballroom was barely audible. Rallas broke out in yet another question, uncomforted by the silence; "How do you feel about me?"

Again the princess was hit with an awkward question. She had only just met the prince that night. How was she supposed to answer a question so suddenly? She looked back at Rallas and studied him. He was bold and slim and just toned enough that he had an attractive body. The thing she loved most were his eyes that glimmered so handsomely against any radiant light. He was just absolutely beautiful, but she was nowhere near in love with him. But maybe she was falling. "How do you feel about me?" She questioned, changing the rules of the game.

A dash of rose smacked Rallas' cheeks as the question pierced his ears. "I've never seen a more beautiful girl before," he answered honestly. His eyes now darted from the dancing couple to look at Blaze. "Not to mention how much I love your personality. I've always heard about how serious you are, but you're far from that. You're fun and you're loving and you know how to have a great time. I didn't know what it meant to fall in love at first sight, but then I met you and I guess… everything fell into place."

Blaze snickered. Somewhat romantic, or so he tried, but it was cheesy. All of the girls would have gone gaga over statements like that. But she wasn't like them. However, her heart fluttered at the compliments and she couldn't help be feel drawn to him. Apparently she was like the other girls. The two looked at each other and smiled, but suddenly all seriousness took place. Rallas leaned in close to her, coming in for a kiss. Blaze's heart pounded, wondering whether she should move away before they touched or just let it happen. She made her decision and closed her eyes. In a way, Blaze must have been desperate for romance; she had blindly fallen in love with the prince.

All of a sudden, a large crash erupted from the bottom of the castle, interrupting their kiss. Blaze jumped in panic and looked over the balcony. "Someone's attacking the castle!" She cried, rushing back into the ballroom. Rallas loyally followed behind.

Screams echoed throughout the fortress as flocks of people stampeded to flee the castle. Blaze and Rallas ran against them, having to push and shove at the crowds coming their way. Soldiers rushed past them and raced for the crash to investigate. In a matter of time, Blaze and her obedient warriors arrived at the scene.

The lower left front corner of the castle was completely blown away and there stood a vicious and scornful robot, towering over the destruction it had caused. Soldiers kneeled down and aimed their large guns at the enemy, firing whatever they had, but it clearly wasn't enough. No matter what struck the machine, it either brushed the dirt away or dodged too quickly. Not even cannonballs could stop this ferocious beast that zipped through the air and commit more chaos along the castle. This creature seemed almost indestructible, but there must be some possible way it could be stopped.

Blaze stared up at the robot, which now stopped in the midst of its destruction to look at the small feline. The princess threw her arm back and growled at the foe. "What do you think you're doing?!" She cried to the violent monster. The soldiers stopped firing but kept their weapons aimed at the creature in case of another attack, although their efforts would be useless.

"I've come for the Sol Emeralds," the robot informed, his voice monotone and threatening. He brought his hand up into a fist. "Bring them to me and I'll cease from destroying your castle."

Blaze rose in panic. There was absolutely no possible way she could ever give out the emeralds to this wicked creature. Besides, they weren't even in her possession. They often stayed with Silver or somewhere in his house in case someone tried to steal them. She wondered if Silver knew about this attack and that's why he didn't bother to show up. But he would have informed her of something as dreadful as something like this and most certainly would have come to defend the castle. Did something happen to him? Blaze's heart began to pound as she wondered of his location.

"I don't know where they are!" Blaze lied, taking a step towards the beast. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

The robot was silent. Its balled fist was still lifted in the air, but it suddenly turned to face the castle and its hand opened. A beam of light instantly shot at the fortress again, only causing more destruction on the fortress. Windows burst into shards and pillars fell into pieces and a hideous black smoke lifted into the air. The section went up in flames and the crowd aroused in panic as that piece of the building crumbled to the ground. More and more bystanders fled from the scene in order to save themselves, practically tripping over each other and shoving everyone out of their way.

"You have three days to bring me the Sol Emeralds or else I'll wreak havoc on your kingdom," the machine bellowed, its voice like thunder. It started to elevate further into the sky, making its departure.

"What are you doing?!" Blaze yelled at the soldiers. "Fire at that thing, already!"

All at once they started blasting and shooting at the beast, barely managing to scrape the metal. The enemy was far too strong for them to handle. It was too late for them to do anything, anyhow. The foe had already escaped, suddenly disappearing into thin air.

Blaze's wandering eyes drifted towards her ruined castle. Nearly an entire corner of her castle was blasted into pieces and it would only be a matter of time before the upper levels of the castle crumbled to the earth as well. She clenched her fists and grunted, realizing what a heavy loss she had suffered. Thankfully, it seemed as if no one was severely injured by the incident, only a few minor wounds here and there. She'd have to get the medics there as soon as possible to tend to her people's injuries.

There was no use in standing out there any longer. In all of her frustration, Blaze marched away from the scene, not wanting to look at the demolition any longer. Rallas loyally followed her closely behind, watching her every move. "What a pain," Blaze groaned through her teeth. Rallas stayed quiet because he wasn't sure of what to say to her, especially at a time like this. The princess suddenly stopped at the entrance to her castle and turned to look back at Rallas. "I'm sorry about all of the trouble that happened tonight. There's no need for you to stay here. You can go home. The servants will take care of everything."

Rallas was speechless, unable to understand her terrible loss. He only nodded and turned away, retreating to his carriage.

There was nothing else she desired to do. Blaze only wished to fall asleep. Everything that had happened was too much to process and it somewhat set her into a daze. She trudged up the stairs, her feet dragging on every step. Every now and then a maid or a butler would stop her to ask if she was alright, but she only nodded and replied with little information, not really taking their concern into consideration. She only focused on her desire to sleep, which she arrived into her bedroom in a matter of no time. Blaze flopped facedown into her bed, her arms and legs sprawled all over her mattress. Oddly enough, for someone who had always been so strong in her lifetime, she began to cry.

* * *

Silver's head was throbbing with such an intense pain that he thought it would explode. The hedgehog sat up and grabbed his head as if that would do him any good. His entire body ached with a strange pain that he wasn't sure of how he obtained. His clothes were also drenched in blood and they were torn along the chest. How awful that such a nice pair had to be destroyed. However, his clothes were the least of his concerns at that moment. He was most worried about how he had come into such a terrible condition and why he was even in the forest.

Silver forced himself up with difficulty, his body aching far more now that he was standing. He looked around the area, taking in his surroundings. He had no idea where he was or how he had even got there. All he knew was that he was lost and bloody, a terrible combination. It was a good thing he could fly or else he'd be stuck in there for days. As much as it pained him, the hedgehog levitated above the treetops, gazing at everything around him. The sun was just peaking over the region, painting the kingdom in gold.

He was quite a bit a ways in the forest compared to the location of the kingdom. He could clearly see the large town just waking up, small groups of people making their way around the place. But what caught his eye was a piece of the castle; it was in ruins. Much of the castle was completely destroyed beyond his comprehension, and he absolutely had to know why. Maybe discovering why an enormous chucnk of the castle was demolished would answer his questions as to why he woke up in the forest. He quickly made his way for the castle, soaring as quickly as he could.

And he suddenly came to the devastating realization that he had missed Blaze's ball.

* * *

**In the original story, the robot never showed up to the party and didn't blow everything up. Everyone danced and the party was over. That's it. I only added the robot in this scene for a better story. Hoohah! I also decided not to describe the prince's attributes so that all of you could use your imagination. In my imagination, he's a squirrel. Haha, I don't know why a squirrel. I don't even like squirrels. But that's my brain.**


	5. Heartbroken

Chapter Four: Heartbroken

In a matter of moments, Silver arrived at the castle. His feet landed firmly on the ground and he raced through the entranceway, heading straight for Blaze. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, having no idea where she could possibly be in the castle right now. She could have already evacuated, or maybe she was at the demolition site and was busy repairing the mess. Even worse, she could have been injured or dead due to the destruction of the castle. There were endless possibilities of her location and condition. Silver was blindly following his heart without further information. He needed to listen to his head if he wished to find Blaze.

His eye suddenly caught a maid walking by. She looked unutterably distraught; most likely from the horrific scenes she witnessed the night before. Silver quickly took this opportunity to run towards the scurrying servant and talk to her about Blaze's whereabouts. "Hey, wait!" Silver desperately called, racing as fast as he could towards the girl.

The maid came to an immediate halt and looked back curiously. "Yes? I'm a little busy at the moment, if you could wait," she softly spoke. She timidly refused to make eye contact, constantly holding her gaze on the floor.

"Where's Blaze?" Silver asked with the upmost concern as he slowed to a stop in front of her. "I need to talk to her right away." He was just about ready to burst into a run again in search of the beloved princess. It didn't do him well at all to mindlessly stand around while this servant searched through her thoughts. They were wasting precious time.

The maid's eyes lifted from the floor and looked up at Silver as if she were studying him. Her innocence never departed from her face. "Pardon me for the rude inquiry, but who might you be?"

Silver lightly growled. He didn't have time to stand around and answer such nonsensical questions. He pointed to himself with his thumb as to indicate who he was. "I'm Silver the hedgehog, Blaze's longtime good friend. You don't understand how important it is that I speak to her right away! Tell me where she is already!" Silver pleaded, grabbing onto the maid's arms and looking into her eyes. He lightly shook the servant, waking her from her delayed thoughts.

"Miss Blaze is upstairs in her room!" The maid quickly confessed, frightened by Silver's ferocious nature. She was immediately released as the hedgehog began to race towards the stairs. "I wouldn't do that if I were you!" She warned, running up the stairs behind him. She clutched onto the hedgehog's arm with her trembling fist to stop him and jumped back slightly as Silver turned to look at her. "Blaze is going through a lot right now, and she seems mad about something. It would be best to leave her alone."

"I know why she's mad!" The hedgehog groaned, pulling his arm out of her grip. He quickly dashed up the flight of stairs now practically tripping over his feet trying to desperately talk to her. The truth was that Blaze could have been mad about a number of things. The fact that Silver didn't show up to her ball, the fact that a large piece of Blaze's castle was practically destroyed. If anything, Silver could at least put in a good word for himself, and then he'd graciously offer to help repair the castle. That would make up for his absence right? He could easily rebuild the castle with his powers. She'd feel _compelled_ to forgive him for what he did wrong.

How selfish. Silver shouldn't have been worrying about himself like that. What he should have been concerned over was what had happened to the fortress. A lump of guilt consumed the hedgehog; had he not been sleeping in the woods he could have prevented this all from happening. Instead, the castle had fallen to pieces without any bit of help from the snoozing hedgehog. Silver only hoped that Blaze was alright and that no further damage was done.

He quickly approached Blaze's door. He practically almost slammed into the door he had rushed so fast. His hand seized the doorknob and he began to violently wriggle it, but the door was locked. "Blaze, open up!" Silver rudely commanded, although those weren't his intentions. He put his ear up to the door, and from the other side he could hear the sound of silent sobbing. However, the sobbing stopped after hearing the noise that Silver had caused.

Silver waited for the door to open, but it never happened. Instead, he was answered with a meek "go away," from the other side.

"Please, Blaze," Silver protested. "I need to talk to you. What happened?" Silver stepped away from the door and stared at it in exasperation, craving for it to open. Yet instead of busting the door down, he politely respected her privacy and stayed on the other side. "I'm sorry I didn't show up last night. I… got caught up in something."

"If you're so sorry, then why don't you tell me what happened?! Where were you last night when I was dancing with a handsome prince and the castle was being destroyed?"

Silver's eyes lit up in anguish. So it was true; there _was_ something going on between Blaze and Rallas. He would have liked to expand his jealousy on the subject, but he didn't want to displease the princess any further. He had to put his feelings behind and get close to her, and the only way to do that was by confessing about what happened. However, he had no memory of the night before. What was he to confess if he couldn't remember a thing? This would only make him look bad. "I… I don't remember."

There was a moment of silence between the two. "You forgot to show up," Blaze hissed from behind the door.

"No, I didn't!" Silver protested, aggravatingly slamming his fists onto the door. "I woke up in the woods this morning with my head pulsing in pain! There's blood all over me and the tuxedo you bought is all torn up. I don't know whether I was attacked or if I fell or … Blaze, just please open up and take a look at me!" He found himself constantly slamming his fists on the door like a child, and he immediately came to the realization that that was immature. He slid his fists down and placed his head on the door. "Blaze, are you listening?"

There was only silence on the other side.

"I'm really sorry for not coming to your ball. I anticipated it all day. All I wanted to do was walk into the ballroom and see you standing there and goldenly smile in your pretty dress. I'd gently take your hand in mine and lead you to the center of the ballroom where we'd dance together for endless hours." He lightly chuckled in the midst of his speech. "I even bought you flowers. They'd die the next day, but you would have been astounded at the sight of them. Purple biennials, your favorites. I know I didn't show up, and I know that must have greatly upset you. Maybe I can make it up to you. Maybe I can…"

His voice suddenly trailed off, for what was seeping from underneath the doorway was a wave of smoke. To his surprise, Silver's ears were ringing. He must have been so caught up in his apology that he wasn't aware of the current conflict going about. Silver stepped away from the door and stared at it in confusion, wondering what was possibly happening on the other side. "Blaze?" Silver shouted through his hands, but he could barely hear himself over the loud ringing in his ears. Blaze's coughs were scarcely heard behind the door.

The hedgehog arose in panic for his dear friend. So much for Blaze's privacy. Silver's hands were surrounded by a bright cerulean light as he forced the door open with his powers. The door flew behind him and slid across the ground. Silver dashed into the room to find smoke and dust everywhere. Apparently an explosion had hit the place or something of the sort. "Blaze!" Silver called out. He too found himself coughing and gasping for air just as Blaze was. He faintly heard his name from the corner of the room and he immediately shot his hand into the dark smoke. He then pulled Blaze out of the room and into the hallway. They both coughed until they could breathe again, then suddenly turned to look at each other.

Blaze's eyes widened at Silver's wounds. He had been telling the truth about the blood and ruined tuxedo. She felt almost guilty for not having believed him, but at the same time she was still furious.

"Are you alright?" Silver suddenly asked.

The question woke her up from her thoughts, and she suddenly concentrated on Silver's eyes. He looked beyond worried about her condition. It was sweet, really. Could Blaze truly stay mad at him over something so small? After all, it was proven to be that maybe he _hadn't_ forgotten about the ball in the first place. That should have been the least of her worries, however. A light chuckle slipped her lips as she looked down at the floor, avoiding his gruesome injuries. "I'm fine, thank you. If anything, we should be worrying about _you_."

The two lightly smiled, although the matter of the situation wasn't amusing or heartwarming at all. More destruction along the castle had just occurred, so of course they should have been worried about that, but they weren't. They were too concerned about the other, which oddly made the scene less frightening.

Another sudden explosion erupted from near town. Silver and Blaze ran back into the room since the smoke was cleared and dashed onto the balcony. From there they looked out to see smoke rising from one of the buildings. Thankfully, it seemed to be one of the abandoned buildings, so no one would have gotten hurt. As the smoke lifted into the sky, a mysterious looking robot began to rise out of the demolished building. Blaze's eyes narrowed, recognizing it as the robot from the previous night. She couldn't understand why it was causing all of this destruction now. She still had two and a half days to obtain the Sol Emeralds. What this fiend was doing was unfair; but of course it was. The machine was a villain, after all.

Silver's eyes widened in shock as he recalled the familiar robot's appearance from the night before. This was the creature that knocked him unconscious, and now it was destroying the town. This was the thing that had caused Blaze to be angry with him. Silver grabbed his head now that it pulsed even more in pain. He felt as if he was about to pass out. He couldn't even defeat this thing the first time and now he was expected to battle it again. He couldn't do it. He wouldn't be able to protect the princess.

"Silver!" Blaze pleaded, shaking the hedgehog. "Silver, what's wrong! Tell me!"

The hedgehog blinked several times, waking from his thoughts. "I… I remember … That's the thing that knocked me out!" His voice shuttered with fear as he spoke these words. No matter how afraid he was of battling that thing, he had to protect the kingdom no matter what. It was his duty, after all. If he let that robot have its ways any further, half of the city might be destroyed, or worse; people might be injured or die. "I have to stop that thing! Stay inside where it's safe!" The hedgehog ran back into the room, turned back to face the balcony, and then jolted towards it, jumping off of the ledge and now flying towards the city.

"Be careful!" Blaze cried. She watched in despair as the bloodied hedgehog made his way to the horrific site. Would he truly be able to stop that monster in his awful condition? There was no doubt in her mind that Silver was going through excruciating pain already with his head injury, and she was sure his body ached as well. Would he honestly be able to handle himself?

The floor of the balcony suddenly cracked beneath her. The ledge was collapsing! In a rush of panic, Blaze darted back for her room. Unfortunately, she didn't make it in time. The balcony crumbled into nothing and she suddenly began to fall. Her arm reached out in a desperate attempt to grab something. All that she managed to take a hold of was a very slim windowsill, which by no means was wide enough to pull herself up. She only dangled there, hoping that someone would come to her rescue. "Silver, come back," she more so called to herself, knowing he couldn't hear her anymore. All she could do was cling on for dear life.

The hedgehog sped for the robot that stood still as it watched its successful destruction. It had already destroyed three more buildings. Had anyone been inside? There was no time to wonder. Silver looked up at the tin can in fury, though fearful by its strength. It would have been idiotic to ask why it was there or why it was doing this, so Silver simply made his attack without any more hesitation. He picked up one of the large debris from a fallen building and chucked it at the distracted robot. The machine let out an odd groan of pain as it was smacked by the large rock.

Silver watched the robot fall onto the ground and quickly rise back to its feet. It turned to look at the hedgehog and aimed its hands at him, as if it were forming energy. Silver did the same, focusing all of his energy towards the robot. The piece of machinery shot a green laser while Silver shot a blue one. Unfortunately for the hedgehog his beam of light wasn't strong enough. The green laser was coming closer and closer. It was pointless to stay there. Silver swiftly dodged out of the way before the laser could hit him. However, as he flew around the laser began to follow him. He flew in circles high in the sky and did zigzags and everything he could think of to avoid the laser, but it just wouldn't stop following him.

The hedgehog used his levitating powers to pick up a car from the ground and quickly threw it at the giant beam of light. It disintegrated into nothing but heaps of ash, and the light died down into nothing. The hedgehog looked down at the robot, but to his surprise it was gone. Where did that junk metal go? Silver turned his head and body every which way, but that thing was nowhere in sight. Silver flew down into the bowels of the city and traversed via the streets, but that thing had long since disappeared. It could have been anywhere by now.

A sudden burst of screams erupted in the distance behind him. Silver immediately spun around in the air and shot off in that direction, knowing exactly where it was coming from. It was the downtown nursery and daycare center. That tin can was destroying a building filled with innocent children. The hedgehog grit his teeth, infuriated with that sick and heartless robot.

The hedgehog arrived to the scene in a matter of no time. The familiar blue of his telekinesis formed around his hands as he used his power to hold the building together. "Everyone get out now!" Silver commanded to the crying crowd. He wouldn't be able to hold it up for long considering it was such an enormous and heavy building, so everyone had to evacuate as soon as possible. He watched flocks of children and adults flee the premises, some carrying infants and toddlers. A few of the nurses and assistants rushed back inside to fetch more of the children. They had to hurry. They were running out of time.

A frightened audience formed around Blaze's crumbled balcony as they shrieked in astonishment. None of them could possibly even begin to aid the princess as high as she was, dangling from a narrow windowsill ledge. They could only talk amongst themselves and hope that the princess would hold on until someone came to her rescue. Another scream fled one of the audience members' lungs as they watched Blaze slip. "She's falling!" Someone cried. The crowd began to panic, unknowing of what to do for her.

Silver watched the last of the nurses exit the building, one of them giving a 'thumbs up' to tell him that everyone had escaped. The hedgehog released the building and let it crumble to the ground. His breathing was heavy after exerting so much energy, but he was relieved that everyone was okay. It appeared to be that the robot was finally gone, seeing that no further damage had been caused. With what little energy he had left, he hastily retreated back to the castle to check on Blaze. The crowd cheered as they watched him depart.

As he neared the fortress, Silver's eyes began to widen in disbelief. Blaze was dangling off of a windowsill, clinging onto it for dear life. Silver moved quicker to save her, but he didn't seem to move fast enough. Blaze's hand slipped from the ledge and she began to fall! The feline let out a terrifying shriek that rang in Silver's ears. His eyes trailed her falling body as she descended from her perch, helplessly plummeting to the ground. Time seemed to fall slow. He wouldn't be able to reach her in time. He was too far away to use his telekinesis. He couldn't save her. The woman of his dreams was falling to her death and all he could do was watch. He reached an impotent hand towards her as if that would have been able to rescue her- Blaze, the love of his life.

Something suddenly burst out of one of the lower windows, glass shattering and scattering in pieces all around the figure. The creature snatched Blaze from the air. They weren't very high up from the ground when this happened; the rescuer was able to safely land on the ground, his feet skidding to a stop once touching the dirt. The crowd let out a mighty roar, applauding and cheering as loud as they could in appreciation of the hero's actions. They ran towards the couple with tears streaming down their faces, relieved that their beloved princess was safe at last.

Silver landed on the ground behind the large group of people and began forcing his way to the front of the crowd. He wanted to see who this savior was. They were chanting a name, "Prince Rallas, Prince Rallas," over and over again in congratulations. Ah, so it was the prince who saved Blaze. And what did this Prince Rallas look like who danced with Blaze the night before? No, Silver couldn't be jealous. It wasn't right. Surely the Rallas character wasn't anyone bad. He showed her a good time at the ball and saved Blaze's precious life. There was no possible way Silver could be angry anymore now that the prince had done a heroic deed. Yet, the jealousy consumed him.

The crowds' chant suddenly began to change. "Kiss, kiss!" They cheered as they clapped and laughed. Silver began to feel uncomfortable as he moved his way through the ecstatic crowd. _No, don't tell them to do that_, Silver thought, overwhelmed by the strange behavior. It would be devastating if Blaze did such a thing to another man. However, as he finally made his way to the front of the crowd, the audience shouted in utter joy, breaking the constant chants. There, right in front of Silver, standing in the center of the crowd, stood Blaze and _that guy_ locking their lips together. Silver couldn't see Rallas' face, and didn't want to for the matter.

The hedgehog turned away heartbroken, heading back to his home. What an awful day.

* * *

**Summer's started and it seems that I'm busier than ever, oddly enough. You think that without all of this schoolwork I'd have more time to write, BUT SURPRISINGLY I DON'T. I'm so behind on this and one of my other stories. Hopefully I'll be able to devote some time to this. **


	6. Love is Not Patient

Chapter Five: Love is Not Patient

"Are you alright?" Rallas asked as he pulled away from Blaze, staring at the girl with concern.

Blaze nodded with a smile. Her eyes remained locked on the floor, far too bashful to gaze at her savior. Her thoughts were hazed after such a romantic embrace. For a second she was completely baffled, but she soon regained herself again. "I'm fine. Thank you for saving me," she whispered.

"You're welcome," Rallas warmly stated. He continued to stare at her for a moment and could sense that something was bothering her. "What's wrong?"

Blaze looked up at him, but her mind was locked on Silver. She begged and hoped that the hedgehog hadn't seen them. Speaking of that boy, she needed to check and see if he was alright. The condition he was in before he left was absolutely awful; his head was bleeding everywhere. He must have been in excruciating pain. "I need to file a report about the incident. I'm sorry I have to leave you so suddenly after just reuniting, but we can visit with each other later. Now is not the time to speak." And with that phony excuse, Blaze turned away from Rallas and forced her way through their adoring fans, retreating to a carriage that would take her into the city. He was most likely still down there.

The carriage hopped and bounced among the rubble of the demolished city. Thankfully the place hadn't completely crumbled to ruins. Most of its beautiful architecture was still standing tall and proud over its fallen brethren. Blaze's eyes wandered about the city, scanning each and every character. Only a few of her beloved subjects carried minor wounds. It seemed as if they were all warned of the attacks and managed to escape in time. This at least calmed Blaze down a bit, knowing her people were safe.

They passed a certain crowd carrying an enormous amount of small, wailing children. This was most likely the location of the downtown nursery and daycare center. "Stop the carriage," Blaze commanded. It came to an immediate stop by the large group of distraught people. The princess approached one of the commoners, studying the character up and down. He was completely unharmed. "How is everyone's condition?" She sternly asked, her gaze falling upon the children.

"So far, everyone's alright," he said; his voice was filled with defeat. "Parents having been swarming here by the numbers to take their kids home, but we're scared that they might not all show up- you know, because of the destruction and such. We might be stuck with a few orphans after this. I can take care of some of them if my house is still standing, but I don't have enough room to take them all. I hope their parents are still alive."

Blaze's eyes narrowed in a compassionate concern for all of those unfortunate children. "Whoever is left behind, please bring them to my castle. They will be taken well care of there. Spread the word." She began to move around the man and made her way to another nurse in search of different information.

This nurse, after noticing the princess, immediately fell into a loyal curtsey and stood back up. She didn't even give the princess time to talk, and it was almost as if this girl knew exactly what sort of information Blaze was looking for. "Your friend saved us," the nurse cheered, using her hands to dramatically portray the situation. "The silver hedgehog! He swooped down from above like an angel and single-handedly held up the building with some sort of holy aura. He's a hero! Thank goodness he's on our side!"

"And what of the robot?" Blaze interrupted, growing impatient with this talk.

Another nurse approached the scene, placing his hands on his muscular hips. "The thing was flying around throwing lasers out of its hands until it just disappeared into thin air. It must've gotten bored playing around."

Blaze nodded, although it was obvious that the robot had no desire to 'play around.' Her attention now reverted back to the nursery woman, wanting to know more about Silver. "Did you see where he flew off to when he was finished with the job?"

"He… he went…" The female nurse's arm sort of buzzed around in the air in mindless direction until it suddenly jolted into a point towards the castle, almost whacking the male nurse across the face. "He went there! To your castle! He was probably about to check there next!"

The male nurse rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Yeah, but that was a long while back. I just saw him a few minutes ago soaring high above the sky in the opposite direction. He was flying south of the city, probably checking on the rest of the citizens. He didn't look so good," he added, referring to the expression on Silver's face.

Blaze assumed that this comment was based on Silver's fatal injuries. He was practically drowning in blood when she and Silver last united. "Thank you for your time." The princess turned on her heel and moved back into her carriage. She ordered the driver to take her south so that way she could reunite with Silver once more. His home was on the very edge of the city. By Silver heading south, he was most likely returning there. Most likely to rest. Or to heal his injuries. Whatever the reason, Blaze had to get to him as quickly as possible. One note being that she had to help him, and on another note to inform him of the conflict. It was important that he knew of the strange robot's desire to get its hands on the Sol Emeralds.

The carriage arrived at Silver's home and Blaze paid the driver and stepped out of the car and it drove away. Now Blaze stood opposite the street from Silver's humble abode. This part of town remained undiminished, thankfully. Blaze made way across the stone street and stopped at his door. She wondered whether she should knock or not. If Silver was resting, she wouldn't want to rudely disturb him by loudly banging on his door. Yet it was impolite to barge in on someone's home. She stared at the door a moment before making her choice. "Silver?" She simply called, loud enough that he could probably hear and soothing enough so that it didn't startle him. But there wasn't a reply. "It's Blaze. I'm coming in."

Her hand gripped the doorknob and slowly turned it. She then carefully opened the door and stepped inside. It was warm inside his house, just like he liked it. Some of the lights were on too. Blaze looked about the room and her wandering eyes fell upon a small picture frame on his kitchen counter. She strolled to the photo and lifted it to her face in her hands, recalling the sweet memories it treasured. It was a picture of Blaze and Silver in their younger years. Practically all of their teeth were showing in their smiles. The princess' heart was filled with butterflies as she set down the photograph. It was a shame that times had become so dire.

Blaze turned back to the hallway and was astonished to see a trail of dotted blood on the floor leading to Silver's room. Her feet hastily moved about the house, following the trail into his bedroom. She gasped at the sight of him lying collapsed on his bed and instantly feared the worst, but she was relieved to see his chest slowly moving up down, meaning he was still breathing. Blaze watched him for a short while, not wanting to disturb him. He looked so peaceful in his sleep. However, if she didn't do anything about his wounded head soon then he would surely die.

Blaze quietly walked over to the sleeping hero and began to lift him into a sitting position. Silver's drowsy eyes opened and he dazedly looked up at her in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to tend to your wounds," she softly spoke, trying to lift him from his bed. "Now help me by standing up."

Silver only shut his eyes again in protest. "Just let me sleep, Blaze. I'm too tired to stand."

"You're so tired because you've lost so much blood! Stand up!" She commanded, her voice now harsh. She threw his arm over her shoulder and carefully led him into the kitchen. She used her foot to pull out a chair from the dining table and gently set him down in it so that he could rest while she fixed him up. The princess retreated to the faucet and took a hold of a sponge, bathing it in cool water. She then calmly returned to Silver's side and began to wipe the blood off of his face and injury. The hedgehog winced and flinched at the touch, irritating the princess. "Stop fidgeting." And Silver did as he was told. Blaze was able to wipe away all of the blood, revealing the gruesome gash on his head.

She stepped back and began to dig her way through Silver's cabinets, searching for bandages. However, her search of the kitchen went in vain for there was nothing helpful about in the room. "Silver, don't you have anything that I can wrap your head in?" She asked in a frantic frustration. She turned back to the hedgehog, astonished to find that there was already a returned trail of blood sliding down his face.

"Bathroom," was all he said.

Blaze raced into the bathroom and looked about the room, practically knocking everything off of the shelves and sink. Where were those bandages? Ah, behind the mirror. She opened the secret cabinet and pulled out a winded bandage wrap. This would do perfectly. The princess dashed back into the kitchen and approached Silver. She had to clean him a second time before gently wrapping his head. She smiled at her work, content with what she accomplished. "Alright, now let's get you out of that torn tuxedo." She bent down and started unbuttoning the rived suit.

Silver silently watched her hands do its work. He didn't want to be near her, more so touched by the wretch. Well actually he _did_ want to be near her, but it wasn't right anymore. Blaze deceived him with her charms. During their entire friendship, Silver thought he had a special place in her heart, but apparently money took its place. Blaze had never felt the same way, and it was obvious. If only Silver had seen it earlier. Now all he could do was watch the love of his life fall into the arms of another man.

Blaze started cleaning the cuts on Silver's chest even though they were minor and didn't need bandaging. However, she wanted him to heal up as quickly as possible. The princess reached around Silver's body and began to wrap around his chest and back. Silver lightly blushed every time she came close, but the princess didn't notice. Blaze went back to the cabinets and pulled out a bottle filled with analgesic drugs. It was bound to make Silver delusional, but at least he'd be relieved from the pain. Blaze forced the hedgehog to take the painkiller. He was stubborn at first, but eventually he gave in and took it.

Blaze pulled up a chair next to Silver and sat down next to him. She smiled at him pleasantly, scanning him up in down. He would recover in no time. "How do you feel?" Blaze intently asked her friend, marking the end of her doctoring.

"You didn't have to come and fix me up," Silver groaned, ignoring her question. "I would have gotten to it eventually."

Blaze smirked and leaned back in her chair, amused by his headstrong behavior. "Is that why you were lazily sprawled out on your bed? You would have bled to death had I not come to your aid." It was somewhat amusing to her, 'coming to his aid.' It had always been Silver rescuing her, and now she was the one who held bragging rights. Although it was nothing to brag about. Anyone could have helped him as easily as this.

Silver wasn't in a humorous mood. He just wanted to be alone. He could feel his mind growing dizzy due to the drugs, although it had been in a state of vertigo for the past couple of hours. "I want to go to sleep," he winced, hanging his head low with his eyes shut. Everything around him was spinning, but he wasn't passing out. It was definitely the effects of the painkiller.

"Actually, I need you to help me," Blaze pleaded, although she tried not to hint it in her voice. "That robot, the one you fought earlier- he wants the Sol Emeralds. I don't know exactly what he's going to do with them, but obviously it's nothing good. We need to devise a plan to stop that thing. Do you still have them? I need them in my care. You're far too weak to take care of them like this."

Although he was offended by the comment, Silver forced himself up anyway to fetch the emeralds. However, as he did so his body began to tremble. He was, in fact, 'far too weak' to even stand on his own. Silver stumbled to the wall and leaned on it for support. There was absolutely no way he could make it into the room to fetch the emeralds, but he wasn't going to admit defeat. Silver suddenly felt his arm lift up and fall over Blaze's shoulders. She was going to help him to the room. She smiled sweetly at him, but Silver didn't return it. Instead, he pulled himself away and reverted back to the wall for support, making his way to the back room.

Blaze watched him, wondering why he shoved her off that way. Nonetheless, she followed him at a slow pace, always prepared to catch him in case he fell.

They entered a dark room with only a treasure chest in the back center of the wall. Silver collapsed to his knees in front of it and opened the chest, revealing the Sol Emeralds inside. They all glimmered against each other's luminesce, lighting up the inside of the box like a rainbow. Blaze watched in awe as the emeralds began to float above the chest. They quickly fled to their princess, shrinking and burying themselves in her pouch. They would remain in her pocket until she opened it again.

"Thank you, Silver," Blaze sang. She gazed at Silver for a moment, watching him simply sit there in front of the chest. "Can you stand?"

The stubborn hedgehog shut the chest and used the top of it to stand up. He looked back at her as he stood perfectly straight on his feet, although with some difficulty. "I don't need you helping me out every ten seconds," he spat, his words slightly slurring due to the anesthetic. He took a step forward to prove himself and unfortunately lost his balance. Blaze rushed to his side and took a hold of him before he even fell. They looked into each other's eyes as Blaze kept her hands on his chest to keep him from falling. Silver's face flushed with the color of rose, but it was too dark for Blaze to see. He wondered if she was blushing too, but most likely not since she loved Rallas.

Silver took an unsteady step backwards from her, this time managing to keep his balance. "If you don't need anything else, then you can leave. I didn't ask you to come to my aid," he hissed, glaring at her.

"What has gotten into you?!" Blaze cried all of a sudden. She wondered if it was the drugs acting up, but Silver had that slightly stubborn attitude since she arrived. Since the painkiller was given, his attitude was only growing. "You've been acting strange since I set foot into this house. Did that robot do something to you? Are you alright?"

"Gee! I don't know, Blaze. Do I look alright?" He asked, throwing his arms in the air, momentarily losing his balance.

Blaze studied him up and down. She wasn't sure if this was to be sarcasm or a rhetorical question or what. She didn't even know how to reply to him. The drugs must have really been getting into his head. "I'm really worried about you. I think you need to lie down, Silver." The princess moved towards him, reaching out a helpful hand for him to take a hold of.

Silver scowled at it and slapped it away, although his force was weak. "Funny that you care so much, all of a sudden. You sure don't act like it except when you want something. Probably to come and take the emeralds away," he growled. Normally, he wouldn't have expressed his anger in a manner so uncivil, but the drugs were taking over. He couldn't think properly and react the way he would have in a normal situation. Instead, he was letting the anger get the better of himself. It was quite mortifying, but there was nothing he could do to hold himself back. "Why don't you kiss up on that Prince Rallas guy some more? I'm sure he'd be happy to help you with whatever you need."

Now Blaze knew what this was about. Silver had apparently seen them kiss, but what was he so jealous about? He never expressed any sort of tender emotions towards her. Blaze had done her waiting; although, she was never sure if she loved Silver in such a manner. Maybe she did … But it was too late now. She had already kissed Rallas, and Silver saw. If there was any sort of passionate relationship between Silver and Blaze, it was gone. "I was merely thanking him for saving me. I could have died! He leaned in close to me and I fell into it," the princess admitted. Her face was red both with frustration and compassion. She hoped that Silver couldn't see it in the darkness.

"What about the countless times that I've saved you? It's because I'm not some fancy prince, huh? Just because I wasn't born into greatness doesn't mean I'm not like you!" He scoffed.

"Silver, we don't have time to talk about this. We need to devise a plan to stop that robo-"

"Blaze, I've loved you since we first met," the hedgehog continued. His heart was racing with empathy. "I've wanted to tell you since then, but I was too scared to tell you. You think I only come to your rescue because you're the princess, but I desire to save you because I love you. It's my sole purpose on this planet to help anyone in need, but I come to your aid first because I care the most about you. I realize that waiting to tell you was a mistake, and now I know the consequence. Love is not patient, and I failed to realize that. If I could go back in time and spill my feelings under that sunset, then I'd do it. But I can't. Instead I'm doing it now.

I know you don't feel the same about me, but you should know how I feel about you. If I have to suffer with regret, then you should suffer with guilt. Blaze, I love you. You can love Rallas all you want, but I'm going to love you whether you like it or not. And at the same time I'm going to hate you. I'm going to hate you because I can't have you. Prince Rallas is lucky to have you, and I suppose you're lucky to have him too. But just know that if he fails to protect you, I'll always be there. I'll do whatever it takes to save you, regardless of the task. Even on my deathbed I'll wake and race to your tormented side and sacrifice my well-being to keep that beloved smile on your face. That's what love is. Love is not about a simple kiss; it's about devoting one's time and feelings for someone … I'm sorry you don't see that."

Blaze only stared at him, taken aback by his sudden burst. He had been holding all of this inside of him. She should've realized his feelings for her, but she was too blind to see it. The princess was on the verge of tears, but she wasn't about to cry in front of him. Blaze wiped the tears away before they fell and directed her guilty gaze to the floor. "I never intended to hurt you, Silver. I'm truly sorry." A sudden tear escaped from its cage, running down her cheek.

Silver's eyes lit up in anguish, knowing this was the second time he made her cry since all of the recent unfortunate events. But he wasn't about to show pity. His agonized expression reverted to his familiar scowl. "Get out," was the only thing he could choke out, getting too caught up in the moment. He found that he too was holding back his tears.

Blaze instantly turned and left the room with constant tears running down her face.

Silver sat down on the treasure chest and buried his face into his hands. When he planned on confessing his love, he didn't plan for it to be anything as terrible as this. Blaze would never love him.

* * *

******I was looking back at the "Author's Note" section and I typed something like "_I hope I can at least get this up to five chapters_" or something. Well, I succeeded with that!:) Now I'll have a few more chapters to go before I finish this completely.**

**I definitely changed this chapter a lot compared to my original story. I'm going to be changing it a lot. Unfortunately. But I'll be changing it for the better!**


	7. Capture

Chapter Six: Capture

It took a lot of thinking, but Silver finally came to the realization that he had to apologize to Blaze. Sure it wasn't his fault; Blaze was the one who caused him to spin off. However, he'd never _ever_ yell at her like that had he not been drugged up. He said some things that he deeply regretted, although some of it he couldn't remember. But the tears she shed because of him weren't worth the pathetic words he spat. The speech was all in spite of her newfound romance, but Silver would have to accept that. If she loved someone and he was good to her, then Silver was happy. He didn't mean to yell at her and never would have under normal circumstances, so it was fair that he had to apologize. After all, she spent her time on repairing his wounds. It wasn't fair that he lit up on her like that after all of her hard work.

Silver forced himself from his bed and walked outside. The moon was high above the sky and all of the city's lights were on. It reflected elegantly off of the windows and the moonlight. Silver wished that Blaze was allowed to go out a night, because then he'd show her all of the lights. She could probably see it from her balconies or windows, but it wasn't the same up close. Silver began to fly higher into the air to get a better look from above. It was beautiful, but still not as beautiful as up close. There was no point in walking the rest of the way to the castle, so Silver decided to fly instead.

He came to a stop on his feet at the entrance of the castle and walked right past the guards. None of them seemed to pay any mind to him, but Silver wasn't going to question their authority. He walked right into the fortress and looked about the room. It was empty. Finding Blaze among the castle was always difficult; he had hoped that a maid would be about so he could ask of Blaze's location like he had always done before in the past. Unfortunately, this time there was no one around. He decided to move forward anyway in hopes of running into the princess.

And to his luck after a few minutes of wandering around, he spotted Blaze in a long and wide corridor; one wall being completely lined with enormous windows. The rays of light gently brushed her lavender fur coat, yet the light made her fur almost a pure white. If the backside of her body looked as majestic as this then he was most definitely eager to see her front side.

Well, it was time to apologize. Silver was just about to call out Blaze's name when a sudden door opened next to her. It was Prince Rallas, standing dashing and handsome in all of his glory. He gently rubbed her back, most likely comforting her. He had a concerned look in his eyes that Silver could see from the side of the prince's face. Silver wasn't exactly sure, but he was most likely positive that Blaze was still upset because of their argument, and Rallas probably knew that.

He wanted to turn away at that moment, but he knew that he had to get it over with as soon as possible. It was the only thing that could save their friendship, if they were to still have a friendship after this at all. Silver took a deep, cold breath and blew it out, his body trembling in fear that Blaze would still be angry with him. "Blaze," he called to her, his voice smooth against the air. The prince and the princess turned to look at him, both entirely upset. The hedgehog flinched. "I'm sorry about earlier. I didn't mean to upset you so terribly. Please… forgive me."

Blaze lightly smiled, but it was a smile covering her sorrow. "It's alright, Silver," she confessed, her tone cracking from the lump in her throat. She was still unbearably upset after their clash earlier, but if he could come to her and apologize like that then she could forgive him. Besides, it wasn't his fault. It was the anesthetics that spoke for him earlier. They had to move on anyway if they wanted to work together and stop the earlier menacing robot.

Rallas' fierce eyes narrowed. "This is the guy who did this to you?" He spat, moving away from Blaze.

"Rallas, it's fine," Blaze begged, pulling back on his arm. "This is the least of my worries-"

Rallas ripped his arm out of her grip and marched up to the pallid hedgehog. He dug his pointed finger into the animal's bandaged chest and growled. "You have a lot of nerve making the princess cry like that and then showing your face here now. Don't you realize what a great woman she is?! She doesn't deserve to be put down like that! You should feel terrible!" He shoved back on Silver's shoulders in the princess' defense, the hedgehog stumbling back a little.

Silver directed his gaze to the floor in agony, knowing what he did earlier was wrong. Now he was being judged for those actions, and it was a terrible feeling. However, he had to stick up for himself if he ever desired to win Blaze over. Wasn't that how it worked in books? The dominant male was the one who surpassed? Silver looked up at the prince and glared at him, doing his best to look threatening. "I know what I did was wrong, but I came to apologize. This has nothing to do with you, so stay out of it." Silver shoved back on Rallas, pushing the prince backwards at a good distance.

Rallas looked at Silver in disbelief. They both knew what was about to happen; a clash, a battle, a fight. Blaze shrieked as Rallas threw his arm backwards and slammed it into Silver's face, knocking the hedgehog backwards. Silver managed to keep his balance, and just as another punch was thrown, he caught Rallas' fist. The prince grew furious at this action and threw another fist towards Silver, but the hedgehog caught the other fist as well. They were now pushing against each other with all of their force, trying to shove each other down. If Silver wanted to, he could use his powers to win the battle, but that wouldn't have been a fair fight, so he stood his ground.

Rallas threw his head back and brought it forward again, slamming it onto the hedgehog's wounded skull. Silver winced and moved away, caressing his head in his hands. Another punch under his jaw caused him to fall backwards. The hedgehog should have realized he was too weak to fight after all of the blood he lost. Silver helplessly looked up at Prince Rallas as the animal stood over him. Rallas lifted his foot and brought it forward towards Silver's face, but the hedgehog rolled out of the way before the impact. He spun around and tripped his opponent from under his feet, sending Rallas to the floor with thud. The hedgehog couldn't really remember what happened next. Silver only found himself on top of Rallas while throwing aggressive punches onto the beast. He was winning; that was all he knew.

Blaze raced to Silver in a frenzy and tore him off of the defenseless prince. "Silver, stop!" Blaze demanded, using all of her force to pull him away. She finally managed to do so, and Silver sat wildly panting on the floor across from Rallas. He sure wore himself out. Silver couldn't help but feel joyous inside at the sight of all the blood on the prince's face. What a load he had put on his enemy. Blaze interrupted his thoughts with another shriek; "You two idiots are hopeless! I can't believe you guys would stoop so low as to cause mindless violence. You imbeciles should be embarrassed by your reckless behavior!"

They both looked at the floor in shame. The two forced themselves up and brushed themselves off, refusing to look at each other.

"I want you two to get along with each other. I don't have time or patience for violence like this with all of the outside troubles going on. I'm perfectly fine; I don't need anyone sticking up for me. I want you two to get over it and shake hands right now or else you two can get the hell out of my castle, alright?!" Blaze forcefully grabbed both of their wrists and put them into the air aloft from each other. "Hurry up! We have important matters to discuss!"

The two enemies exchanged glares, narrowing their eyes in disgust. But for the princess' sake, they inched their hands forward and clasped into a tight handshake. Rallas was the first to pull away and turn to Blaze. "What 'important matters,' exactly, are we discussing?" He asked, confused by this strange talk.

Blaze rubbed the back of her neck. She didn't plan on telling Rallas anything considering the conflict was mainly between she, Silver and the robot. "It has nothing to concern you with," she confessed, turning away from him. "Let's go, Silver." And with that, she began to walk away with the hedgehog obediently following behind; he had won.

"Wait, there has to be something I can do," Rallas begged, moving towards her. "I want to help. I care about y-"

"I don't want you getting hurt!" Blaze shouted as she came to a stop. She looked back at him, her eyes filled with anguish. "This is not your fight. I care about you too, alright? I… I just don't want you getting hurt … It wouldn't be fair to you. We don't need your help, anyway. I have Silver on my side. You just rest up, okay?"

In a way, Silver was both relieved and hurt. Blaze had just basically confessed her love to Rallas, admitting that she didn't want him to be harmed. Silver was again consumed with sorrow, his heart aching in jealousy. But at least Blaze could depend on him, and maybe that's what mattered. Because if she was ever hurt, he could run to her side and protect her. Yet, Silver couldn't help but feel enraged. After all that he had ever done for her, she still loved the prince. That thing was absolutely useless; she had only fallen in love with him in a matter of days, even though she had known Silver for years. It wasn't fair! But Silver wasn't about to express his protest. He held his silent wrath inside of him for everyone's sake.

Rallas glared, a vein in his forehead appearing from sheer anger. "Blaze," he called out to her as she began to walk away again. She stopped once more but didn't bother to turn around. "I'm tired of this folly game. Three days is too long! Give me the Sol Emeralds."

"What?" Blaze looked back at him in disbelief, along with Silver.

All of a sudden, one by one the windows shattered into thousands of pieces due to the intensity of bullets shooting at them. Silver grabbed Blaze and threw her down to the ground and shielded her with his arm so that they wouldn't get shot. Glass flew from the windows and slid to their sides on the floor. The vicious robot that they had seen before floated around on the outside of the open windows, aiming his gun towards the inside. "The master has ordered that you hand over the Sol Emeralds. Hand them over or prepare to meet your fate," the machine hissed as it shot another round of bullets. Blaze's shrieks weren't heard over the volume of the gunfire.

Rallas walked over to them as soon as the firing stopped. Silver quickly stood up and went to throw a punch at Rallas but the beast immediately threw a kick to the hedgehog, knocking him back down. Two other smaller robots appeared from the outside, both shaped like wicked monkeys. They took a hold of Silver's arms and held him back. The hedgehog went to use his telekinesis to free himself but he was suddenly roughly punched in the stomach, catching him off guard. He coughed and gasped for air, unable to focus on using his powers.

Another set of prime ape robots flew inside the building using jetpacks and seized Blaze off of the floor, lifting her into the air by her arms. She screamed and wildly kicked her legs in a desperate attempt to free herself. The feline lit her hands up with fire so that she could attack her captors but she couldn't bend her arms to strike at the enemies. Instead, she threw fireballs in an unorganized fashion in every which way, hoping to hit one of the beasts. Unfortunately she was failing miserably, but she didn't give up. Even as they began to take her away she was still fighting. Despite her efforts, the robots still managed to easily take the princess outside.

Rallas stood before Silver with his arms crossed behind his back. He smirked at the hedgehog. "Not so high and mighty now, are you? Learn to take a hit, hedgehog. You'll need to if you want to save your precious girl."

Silver looked up at Rallas in desperation. "What the hell are you doing?! Let her go! You love her!" He cried out in distress, not understanding what Rallas was doing.

Rallas' eyes narrows. He kicked the hedgehog again in the stomach, wanting the animal to be quiet. "I only used her so I could get to the Sol Emeralds. She was supposed to trust me, and in her time of need she would give me the emeralds. I didn't know where they were, so I figured she would hand them over eventually due to fear of my minions getting their hands on them. Obviously, that plan failed. I still have no idea where they are, so now it's your job to get find them. You have one more day to get them to me or else I'll blow that cat's brains out. It's apparent how much she means to you. One more day," Rallas repeated.

The robots unhanded Silver and quickly jetpacked away from him. Rallas dashed outside and leaped through the window and landed on the larger robot's shoulder. They then all flew away from him and fled into the darkness of the night. There, behind the large and vast city, an enormous ship began to rise out of the distant forest. The jet engines' power was so strong that it vibrated the broken glass on the floor of the castle. It gently floated over the town, flaunting its threatening armor that reflected against the moonlight. Some of the citizens of the town stared at it in awe and wonder while others ran inside of their homes out of fear.

Silver stood to his feet with difficulty and approached the window, looking out at the large jet. They apparently didn't know that Blaze had the emeralds, which was both a good and a bad thing. Now Silver didn't have anything to offer up as a trade. How was he ever going to possibly save her now? On top of that, he was far too weak to save her in his wounded condition. But he had to do something. He had to save Blaze. But even if he saved her, all of Mobius would be at stake. They'd use the Sol Emeralds to destroy this precious land or worse. But if he didn't do anything, then Blaze would die. Or what if they killed her and then found the emeralds on her body? Everything Silver thought of resulted in a losing situation. There was no possible way he could ever think to win.

Silver had a few hours to think his plan over, so he sat down on the floor with his back leaned against a pillar. If he were to save Blaze, then he could get his hands on the emeralds and use their power to destroy the ship and all of its enemies. But it wouldn't be easy. Retrieving the emeralds required him to sneak into the ship and pass all of the guarding robots. He could tell them he found the emeralds and then maybe they'd take him to Blaze and hand her over; then he could use the emeralds. Or maybe they'd ask for the emeralds first. Would it be wise to confess that the emeralds were inside of her pocket? It wouldn't, because then they'd have the Sol Emeralds on their side and would be impossible to stop.

Silver hopelessly buried his face in his hands. It seemed like there was nothing he could do. He'd have to risk his life if he desired to save the princess, but this time under dire circumstances. With his gashes and wounds, it would be nearly impossible to face all of those robots. He absolutely had to get his hands on those emeralds.

He almost didn't want to save Blaze. There was no reward. She didn't love him like he loved her, and she made that out to be obvious. Blaze had fallen in love with the enemy, which was a horrible mistake. Now she was taken against her will. She had this coming. She got what she deserved, didn't she? But it wasn't her fault. Silver couldn't make her love him. If anything, he should have confessed in the very beginning. It may not have changed anything, but at least Silver would feel better about saving her. He was going to have to go out of his way to save her no matter what, whether he wanted to or not. Her people needed a princess, so it was only necessary.

There were no options. Silver had to save both Mobius and Blaze. The hedgehog stubbornly forced himself up and faced back to the window, looking up at the giant ship. It masked a silhouette against the moonlight. The hedgehog took in a deep breath and lifted himself into the air, levitating to the ship. It was time so save the princess.

* * *

**I was looking back at my old fanfiction again and remembered that it was based off of the song "Dreams of an Absolution." I wish I kept the story based off of that song, but I guess I got a little sidetracked. But it's still good, if not better. I guess. Maybe it's still like the song. I'm not sure.**

**AUGH THE NOSTALGIA. Sonic '06 was such a great game! I wish the newer games were that amazing, but they went downhill since then. I think Sonic Generations probably did well, although I hadn't played it. I just wish they made the newer games a lot like the older games. Guh, I'm just all filled with nostalgia today. I absolutely loved all of the characters and their relationships with each other. They just did such a good job on '06:')**


	8. Aboard the Aircraft

Chapter Seven: Aboard the Aircraft

Silver reached the ship and roughly landed on top of it, almost losing his balance. He was still somewhat woozy after his last encounter with Rallas and was still recovering. More so, it was difficult standing up straight when the carrier was constantly swaying. The fortress was so large, yet there were no windows nor entrances nor openings. It was going to be troublesome finding a way inside, but there most definitely was a place he could enter from somewhere atop the ship. The curious hedgehog wandered about the aircraft, being careful to stay out of enemies' sights. Their bright yellow security lights beamed across the surface. Most often, they just barely managed to stay out of Silver's fortunate reach. As dangerous as they were, they were his only source of light on the aircraft aside from the moon's vibrancy.

The hedgehog had nearly searched the entire outside of the ship before coming to the realization that there was no easy way in. Most of the entrances were either sealed tight or heavily guarded. Silver was just going to have to break in, although those were his intentions from the beginning. The question was how without getting caught? There were most likely enemies lurking all around the interior of the ship as well, so no matter where he decided to make his entrance there was always a huge possibility of being noticed. To begin with, he didn't even have any idea of Blaze's location. What if he pierced a hole into parse this part of the fortress and then Blaze so happened to be held over there on the opposite end? There was no telling where that feline could be.

Wherever she was, it wouldn't do Silver any good looking on top. He had to get inside if he wanted to save her. Silver began to carve his way into the base frame of the ship using a special laser attack he had been working on. It was able to cut through thick sheets of metal and iron; he hoped this would aid him on his quest when battling those vicious robots. He should have used these attacks on the earlier menacing robot, but he was so caught up in the battle that he didn't think to use the unfamiliar power.

Silver managed to open a hole just wide enough for him to squeeze through, but he peeked inside before entering. The coast was clear, so Silver dived into the hole and landed firmly on his feet. The aircraft definitely swayed less on the inside much to the hero's relief. The hedgehog looked at his surroundings, finding himself in a long, wide hallway. It wasn't accompanied by any threatening robots near the ends or anywhere close by. Silver would be safe for a while. He proceeded down the corridor with caution, ready to strike at any daring robot that approached or snuck up on him. He made sure to always have a light aura on his hands so it wouldn't have to charge up.

The hedgehog came to a four-way intersection. There were guards lingering in only one hallway to his left. As much as he didn't desire to trudge down that particular corridor, he had a strange feeling about it. They must have been protecting something extremely important down there if they were only taking up one hallway. That must have been where Blaze was held. Or maybe this was a trap? That definitely seemed like a more likely proposition. Why else would all of the robots be stationed in one area? But then again, maybe they were in fact guarding Blaze. There was only one way to find out.

Silver strode to his left in the contaminated hallway. Immediately, all of the residing robots locked onto him with their targets. "Warning; Do not come closer," the first machine warned. But Silver didn't take heed to this admonish and darted right on through. Missiles burst out of the enemies' cannons and aimed directly for the quick-moving hedgehog. Silver used his newfound power to slice through the arriving bullets, and they burst into a scorching flame. Some of the robots were hit by the impact and began to arise in a sea of fire. Nonetheless, they did their loyal duties and continued on with their attempts to strike the speeding animal.

None of them were quick enough to even graze the intruder. Silver lightly chuckled. He could see why that Sonic the hedgehog guy loved running so much; it was a rush. However, Silver wasn't running. His legs couldn't dare to carry him at such rapid speeds. No, he was soaring over their heads, bouncing off walls, slipping under their feet. These amateur robots were no match for such a hedgehog! One by one Silver either lit them on fire or caused their parts to fall into pieces. It almost wasn't fair; there was no challenge whatsoever. Yet Silver didn't complain about such fortunes. With all of his injuries, he couldn't afford to engage in such difficult battle. He was thankful for such low-leveled robots.

With most of the enemies out of the way in that area, Silver began to head on forward again. Often he came across intersections, and rarely would he actually arrive at a fork in the road where there were robots into two different corridors. As questioning as the decision was, he trusted his gut and went down whichever pathway it told him to go. He repeated the attack process of bringing the robots to their demolishing ends. Each ended in the result of either another explosion or more falling apart; either way, he got the job done. Silver was able to easily maneuver himself throughout the ship much to his surprise. This was almost too easy, and Silver began to dwell deeper and deeper into the thought that maybe he was indeed being lead to a trap.

The hedgehog stopped in the midst of his tracks, deciding to take this all into thought. He needed to take a break, anyway. His breaths had grown heavy from all of the constant travel and battle. Maybe the hedgehog needed to be taking different routes, or maybe he should have started checking the doors on the walls. He began to do that. At that very moment, he peeked his head inside one of the doors, but it was only filled with desks and chairs. Definitely not the room. Silver continued his way about the ship looking through all the doors and backtracking around the hallways he hadn't ventured in. At one point, he had almost come across Rallas. Silver had to sneak by so that the fiend didn't capture him.

Silver quickly raced through the empty halls, but no matter where he went there wasn't any sign of Blaze. Where could she have possibly been? He thought about calling out her name, but that would have been a dire mistake. There was no doubt a flock of robots would swarm around him. It was best to just find Blaze with luck, although he was lacking any good fortune. Good fortune wouldn't help him out, anyway. He was running out of time and couldn't depend on such things. In a matter of time, anything terrible could happen to Blaze by the nefarious Rallas' dirty hands.

Silver's breathing grew heavy again once more as he traveled. Again he came upon more robots swarming the halls and was forced to fight them if he ever desired to pass by. They all heeded the same warning and all ended in a calamity as a result. Was there no end to this constant fighting? Silver came to a stop once more, catching his breath. It seemed as if he was traveling the same halls over and over again, but how was he to tell the difference? They all looked the same! The frustrated hedgehog cursed under his breath. At this slow rate, Blaze's head was most surely to get blown away.

Just then, he could have sworn he heard a small and meek voice behind him. He eagerly turned around as if expecting to see Blaze behind him, but it was obvious she wouldn't be there in the open. Although Silver had already checked these doors, he did a double check to see if he had passed the princess by. However, the mysterious calling still occurred and there was no sign of Blaze. "Where are you?" Silver pointlessly called, only hearing murmurs of her voice. "Don't stop making noise! Let it lead me to you!" He tried not to be too loud so that way another invasion wouldn't erupt, but he was loud enough so that maybe he could hear her. But could he honestly hear him?

A loud banging suddenly echoed from his right. It was… the wall? The hedgehog neared the wall with caution, never letting go of his aura. He used his levitation to take a hold of the pounding wall, and with little effort he managed to move the wall aside. Behind that mysterious wall was a secret hallway! The ignorant hedgehog would have never guessed about such a sneaky wall. Silver ventured inside, keeping sure to always stay on his guard. If he was approaching Blaze, then there were bound to be more vicious robots, wasn't there? But there were none. This hallway was surprisingly empty. Then again, it was a puzzle to find, so it wasn't really that astonishing that it was empty. No need to guard something so difficult to find.

Following the echoes of Blaze's voice and constant banging, Silver came to the end of the hallway and approached a room. On the opposite wall there was a door, which possibly led to the room where Blaze was being held. He raced to the door and placed his hands on it and looked through the small window. Blaze was looking back at him, smiling with utter joy. She tried to speak to him, but her voice was muffled by the door.

"I'm glad I found you," Silver cheered with a light chuckle. "It's okay, Blaze. I'm here. I'll get you out." His soothing attempt was pointless. There was no way that girl could hear him through the thick walls, especially if he couldn't even hear her either. "Stand back!" He pointlessly called again. He waved his arm in front of him in suggestions that she moved out of the way, and she did exactly so. The hedgehog lifted his hands above his head and aimed it at the door. He used his levitation to move the door like he had done the wall, only this door was much more difficult to pry open. But with a little bit of effort and determination, the bolted door swung open and slammed against the wall.

The hedgehog darted into the jail room to see if Blaze was alright. By the gratified smile on her face, she was absolutely dandy. The princess embraced her hero with a big hug around the neck. She gently stroked the back of his head. "Oh, thank you, Silver. I'm sorry. This is all my fault. I should have realized Rallas' horrible intentions." Blaze's voice was cracking, and she was on the verge of tears.

Silver gently rubbed her back and shushed her. She had gone through a lot- not as much as Silver, but enough to put her on the edge. He tightly squeezed her one last time before releasing from her grip. Blaze looked sincerely into his eyes. She was both drowned in guilt for not have realizing the beauty in Silver and felt like an idiot after falling into a one night stand with Rallas, especially since he was the enemy and failed to realize it. She had to make it up to him; make it up to him with the one thing he truly desired. Blaze shut her eyes and slowly and carefully started to bring her lips closer to Silver's. The hedgehog stared at her, a blushing red filling his cheeks; this was what he wanted for so long from the bottom of his heart. But… it just didn't feel right.

"Blaze," he suddenly said, startling the cat. He always desired such a taste of her lips, but it had to wait. "We have to take down this ship and all of these robots. We can't let them destroy the city."

Blaze looked down and masked a face of both disappointment and mortification, but she didn't take long to move on. "We need to destroy the engine," she said with newfound determination as she looked at her friend. "But we have to steer it away from the city first or else it will demolish the city. Let's hurry and head to the front so we can steer it out of this place." And before Silver could even agree, the feline moved around him and began to run for the exit. Silver hastily followed behind, working hard to keep up with her. He almost immediately felt something wet hit his face.

Silver could see from behind that Blaze was crying. Tears flew from her eyes and smacked into his body. The hedgehog wasn't sure whether she was tearing up from embarrassment or rejection, but it was sad and it made his heart ache. That must have been why she ran away so fast, so he wouldn't see. Blaze's attempts of hiding her sorrow ultimately failed, and Silver couldn't help but feel guilty. He should have done it. He should have kissed her. He waited all his life to do that, but he turned it down almost instantly. It would have been nice to stop her right there and then and embrace her with a kiss, but they didn't have time anyway. They were set on a mission to destroy the ship and every threatening robot inside.

Silver had thankfully managed to destroy nearly every machine while on his search for Blaze, so the two didn't have much trouble while finding the control panel. It was finding it that was the problem. The ship was filled with multiple corridors with doors in every section filled with something invaluable. They must have traveled for hours in search of that blasted control room. They had to hurry or else Rallas would discover that Blaze was missing and would know something was up. Who knew what that man would do after finding that his prisoner had left? He would most likely destroy the city or capture hostages and use them as sacrifices. But the two saviors didn't want to dwell on that idea, so they focused on their search for the control panel.

Blaze and Silver came across a heavily guarded door by two enormous and dangerous-looking robots. They were armored with a load of weapons. In between the menacing couple was a door labeled "Captain's Room." The animals weren't sure whether or not that was where the steering lied, but they had to check. They were running out of time and couldn't afford to skip it. Yet it was going to be a waste of time if this was the wrong location.

The two stood behind a wall for safety, and around the corner was the destination. They didn't want to get caught too soon before revealing themselves. Silver looked back at Blaze who stood behind him. "You stay here. I'm going to destroy them," he whispered, almost inaudible.

Blaze narrowed her eyes and grabbed his arm before he began to run off. "You're injured, Silver, and you look so tired. Let me do it," she begged, standing to her feet. It was almost as if she was doing it in Silver's favor so that way he would feel some sort of compassion for her, or so the hedgehog assumed.

His eyes watched her, unsure whether or not she would be able to handle herself. She was weaker than him in some cases, although she had been able to handle herself in the past. However, Blaze was right about him being so tired after exerting all of that past energy, not to mention his desire to sleep. He only nodded and allowed her to do so; it wasn't as if he had a choice. The stubborn feline would attempt to fight the robots without his content anyway.

Blaze walked around the corner and lit up her hands in a ball of orange flame. "Warning; Do not come closer," one of the robots informed, but of course Blaze pain no mind to them. They aimed their weapons at her and took a step towards the cat. Before they could fire, Blaze aimed her hands at the beasts and shot a scorching flame at their bodies. This would hardly damage them, but it was enough to buy her some time. While occupied with the fire surrounding them, Blaze dashed towards them and leapt into the air with her feet aimed in their direction. She knocked one of them over with her quick impact, but the other remained standing due to its distance. It began to fire speedy bullets at her. Unfortunately for the machine, Blaze quickly dodged a back flip out of the way and it shot its friend. The enemy blew into bits and pieces.

Now all that was left was the second robot. Blaze landed on her feet but unexpectedly fell into a kneeling position. Apparently, the robot managed to shoot her ankle. She whimpered in pain, but she wasn't about to give in so easily. Blaze forced herself up to her feet, putting all of her weight on the uninjured leg, and sizzled her hands again with a burning flame. The robot aimed at her once more and shot at her. Blaze was quick to move out of the way, but at a price. She fell flat on her face after jumping out of the way. She was injured. Mobility wouldn't be easy at all. In her defense, Blaze shot another flame at the enemy, but it did no damage. It only crusted its surface. The robot flashed a red dot on the cat's head, aiming with perfection at her skull. The cat's heart began to race in fear. She stood to her feet and attempted to move out of the way again, but she was too slow. She wouldn't be able to move out of the way in time.

Silver had been watching from around the wall and rose in panic. Blaze was about to get shot. She was about to meet her fate. The hedgehog sped from around the wall in her direction. He suddenly used his levitation to pick her up and throw her out of the way just as the machine shot a deadly red laser into the wall. The feline slid across the floor and shook her head. She let out a wrathful growl. "You idiot! I was doing fine without you!" She cried. That thing nearly killed her just a second ago, but she was still wrathful towards the hedgehog. This was her chance to redeem herself. That Silver never let her get her way.

The robot stood in between the girl and the boy, not sure where to aim. Silver ignored the robot almost completely as he kept his attention directed towards Blaze. "That doesn't matter, now. I'm going to lure this thing away. Just get inside the control panel and steer this ship out of here!" And with that command, he turned towards the robot. Luckily, these lower-class machines lacked knowledge and common sense and were only programmed to fight whatever moved.

Silver shot a blue laser from his hands at the fiend, barely scratching its armor. That attack should have sliced right though its body, but this one apparently was made of a stronger material than iron or metal. His attacks were nearly useless against it, but he was bound to find a way to destroy that thing. "Hey! Over here!" Silver called, firing another laser at the enemy. It turned its attention to the hedgehog and began to stride towards him. As it moved closer, it began to shoot bullets like before. Silver quickly dodged and started to speed his way down the hallway with the robot trailing behind.

Blaze watched the hero run away, giving her the chance to make her move. She forced herself up and winced at the pain in her ankle, but moved to the door. It automatically opened after arrival and she limped inside. To her luck, this was indeed the control panel that would lead them away from the city. However, she oddly noticed that there wasn't a captain inside of the room. Maybe he, _or it_, was somewhere off in a different part of the ship. There wasn't any time to dwell on the driver's location. She had to hurry up and drive that thing out of there.

Blaze limped to the levers and buttons and studied them. She didn't know how any of them worked. Buttons were most likely missiles or some sort of weapon, so she avoided those. The levers had to be what steered the ship. There were six. One was possibly for going left, another for right, one up, down, forward, and reverse.

It was time to move this thing. Without any confidence whatsoever, she placed a trembling hand on a lever and pulled it back, hoping this was what would go forward. The ship suddenly jerked to the side, causing the feline to fall over. Not the right lever, but it was something. A sudden dire thought crossed her mind. The captain wasn't in the room. Now everyone aboard the ship would know someone was messing with the control panel, especially with bad driving skills like that. They would suspect an intruder and someone would come to stop her. She had to be quick about moving this thing.

Blaze frantically moved to her feet again and saw through the window in front of her that the aircraft was turning. This was a good start. At least it was moving away from the castle, although not in her desired direction. She planned on heading towards the forest, but this was bringing them to the ocean. At least it brought her away from the city, and that was all that mattered. However, they were still turning. Now all she had to do was move it forward. She confidently moved another lever, and this caused it to move in the correct direction; forward. Ahha! Her luck finally paid off.

She pushed the turning lever back up so that way the ship would continue on its forwarded path. In no time they'd be over the ocean and the city would be safe and sound at last. Unfortunately, they still had to destroy the giant ship. On an even worse note, it would explode over the ocean. They would plummet right into those waters, but Silver would be able to fly them away, right? Would they even be able to escape in time once destroying the engine? Blaze took a deep breath. It was best only to hope that they could save themselves.

The door behind her suddenly opened. Blaze sighed in relief, realizing that Silver was able to get rid of the robot. "I figured out how to steer the ship," Blaze chuckled. However, as she turned around to face the door, her spine shivered in fear. Instead of Silver, she was devastated to find Rallas standing furiously in the doorway. The large robot that had destroyed nearly half of the castle and the city on an earlier note was standing behind him. This was definitely not a good predicament to be in.

* * *

**Why does Sonic like running? _Because it's such a rush_. ~PUN PUN PUN~ Okay, I'm not done. "Blaze blazed Blaze's blazing blazes" is a correct sentence. And if that tongue-twister didn't make sense, it means that "Blaze lit her scorching fire." But you guys are smart and probably knew that. c: Ohho, this is a fun night.**

**Also, I keep forgetting to thank you guys for all of your support. I really appreciate it and it makes me smile, so thank you!**


	9. Acceptance

Chapter Eight: Acceptance

Silver managed to easily defeat the machine without trouble, unlike Blaze. However, he gave her good credit for steering the ship. It was a little rough, though. He had nearly fallen to his knees against the sharp turn, but the turn was done fairly well without knowing how the controls worked. Now that the ship was heading in the right direction, it was time to destroy the engine. But he couldn't head there straight away; he had to retrieve Blaze first. The hedgehog turned on his heel and began to race all the way back to the control room. He had run quite a long ways away from the room in order to lead the menacing robot away, but it had to be done in order for the ship's steering to take place. Blaze and Silver didn't want any interference with their ploy.

A sudden voice came on the intercom, and Silver skid to a stop to listen to it. "Silver the hedgehog… I see you've been busy for the past couple of hours," the voice spoke. The hedgehog recognized it all too well to be Rallas. Something definitely went wrong if that maniac had something to say at a time like this. The enemy had obviously discovered something. "I bet you thought you could fool me, and I admit that you almost did. But I'm no idiot. Of course I would find out about your little plan sooner or later, and it seems like I just did." He let out a sudden wicked chuckle that made Silver's spine tingle with apprehension. "You thought you were going to be the big hero and save Princess Blaze and the whole entire city, but you made a mistake by leaving her behind to take on the task by herself."

"Silver!" Blaze roughly spoke through the intercom. It seemed to echo throughout the entire ship. "Silver, don't come back!"

"Blaze?" Silver's voice shuddered as he took a step towards the intercom, rising in utter fear. It was pointless for him to speak. They wouldn't be able to hear him. But without a clear mind and a worried heart, he was desperate to get through to them somehow and speaking was the first thought that crossed his mind.

A cry and a light scream was heard, and the sound of struggling started in the background. They were doing something to Blaze, but what?! Rallas began to speak again, following with another one of his nefarious laughs. "You'd better hurry up and save your precious princess. She's not much of the fighting type… Silver, I want those Sol Emeralds. I've asked you once and this will be the last time that I ask of you, or else Blaze will suffer the consequences. You have five minutes to come to the control room and tell me where they are or else this feline will experience pain unlike she's ever experienced before." And with that, the intercom stopped. Rallas was finished. He had Blaze trapped like a doll in his hand. It was coming to the end, and that psychotic fake prince was winning.

Silver's heart raced with anxiety as he darted back to the control room as quickly as his feet could take him. No, running was no use. He wouldn't make it in time. Using his aura, he forced himself to levitate at rapid speeds. The wind beat against his fur and skin as he moved to the other side of the ship. Although he wasn't physically exerting energy, he was still wearing himself out mentally. With all of the stress he was putting himself through, he was losing his mind. He didn't know what to do or how he was going to save Blaze. He just knew he had to get there as quickly as he could. Would he be able to make it in time? What would he do if they killed her? How would he react? Silver wouldn't have any hope or reason to live anymore if that happened. All of Mobius would crumble. All that the hedgehog knew that he had to do was to reach the control panel before time ran out. He didn't know what would happen after that, but it was sure to be something dreadful. Either Blaze would get hurt or all of Mobius would fall. There was no easy way out.

"Time is running short, hedgehog," the intercom spoke again.

The hedgehog felt as if his heart would stop. He held his breath as he moved faster than ever before, his muscles and mind aching in pain. Everything in his vision was only a quick blur. He felt like his entire body would explode. He couldn't stand the idea of what they would do to the precious love of his life. They could stab her or bash her head against the wall until she bled or torture her. There was no telling what that wicked Rallas would do. Silver would rather they hurt him instead. He didn't want Blaze to suffer. If he could, he'd suffer the consequences for her. He didn't even have a plan to save her. All he could think to do was to confess the location of the Sol Emeralds; in Blaze's pocket. It was the only logical way to save her, even if it meant the fate of the entire city, the entire world. He would rather have the world crumble than for Blaze to die because of him. This should have never happened. Had he just ignored the sound in the woods and went to the ball, he could have prevented this all from happening. Seeing Blaze in her breathtaking dress, he would've been more determined to fight. But it was too late to hold onto regrets. He could only focus on what was happening in the moment.

The control panel. There it was, and the door was wide open. Rallas and his minions were seen clearly standing inside. The hedgehog took a hold of his stomach, recalling the heavy blows that the prince had offered him earlier. One thing that struck Silver odd was that Blaze was nowhere to be found. Silver skid to a full stop upon entering the room. His breaths were heavy and his chest felt like it would burst. His eyes darted all around the room for his beloved princess, but again she was nowhere in sight. All that he could see was Rallas standing in front of a row of robots all with their arms behind their backs. The machine that Silver had fought in the forest was standing right behind the prince. The hedgehog clenched his teeth and creased his eyebrows into utter frustration. "Where's Blaze?" Silver asked with a fearsome growl. He tried to do his best to look intimidating, but he imagined he didn't do so well after being winded, along with his noticeable injuries.

Rallas cocked a sassy eyebrow and smirked, placing a hand on his hip. "Where are my Sol Emeralds, Silver?" He cooed, taking a step forward. "You can have her if I can have what I want. My priorities come before yours."

The hedgehog lowered his gaze but kept his eyes locked on his enemy. He took a deep breath before starting again, not wanting to lose control of himself. "I have to see her first. I want to know if she's okay," he hissed, digging his nails into the palms of his hand. He was growing desperate. He needed to know where Blaze was or else he was sure to lose it.

The prince snickered and snapped his fingers, finally giving in. One of the robots moved their arms and revealed Blaze. It had its hand over her mouth and she was struggling to free herself as she kicked her legs about the air. Rallas was highly amused by the look of scorn masked on Silver's face. The hedgehog looked as if he was about to burst. "If you restrain yourself from telling me any longer, then I'm going to break one of her arms. The more you hesitate, the more limbs I'll break. You still have two minutes remaining on the clock, and when that time is up I'll shoot her bloody brains out. Got it?" His mocking sneer never departed from his face as he approached Silver. They stood face to face. The hedgehog could have punched the fiend at that very moment, but such an action would result in the consequence of a broken limb on the princess. "Tell me where the Sol Emeralds are."

Blaze managed to break herself free for a moment, allowing her to talk some sense into the hedgehog. "Don't give them up, Silver!" She cried out in desperation. "I know you're injured and you're weak, but you can take them on! I don't care what happens to me! You have to save Mobiu-" The robot suddenly lifted Blaze off of her feet and slammed her against its body. Its wide, metal arm began to crush her throat.

Silver's eyes widened in horror as he watched Blaze struggle to breathe. "Let her go!" He cried in agony, trying to push back against Rallas.

The fiend only shoved him back. "Where are the Sol Emeralds?!" Rallas yelled in Silver's face. He diverted his attention to the robot. "Break her arm!"

"No!" Silver cried out in desperation as the robot took a hold of Blaze's arm. "They're in her pocket! Please don't hurt her!"

"Stop!" Rallas commanded the machine with a wave of his arm. The robot stopped midway in its action and threw its arm back down beside itself. "Drop her." The machine let go of the feline and let her collapse onto her knees. She immediately gasped for air and clung onto her damaged throat. Rallas slowly walked to the fallen princess in silence, his footsteps being the only noise that echoed throughout the room. He stood over her and glared, his hand sticking out aloft from Blaze's face. "Give them to me," he commanded with a stern voice. Blaze only scowled up at him, refusing to do as told. The prince suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled him to his face, grimacing at the hideous cat. "Give them to me."

Blaze frowned. She wasn't about to give them up so easily. She would rather die than give up all of the innocent lives of her people. "Make me," she spat, pulling her arm out of his grip.

Rallas glowered so deep that the shadows edged his face. An exacerbated vein crossed his forehead as he stood up straight once again. A deep shadow covered his eyes, and he began to lift his leg behind himself. Before Blaze could even react, he kicked her right under her jaw and sent her flying onto her back with a heavy thud. Everyone waited for her to stand again as she tried to force herself back up, but it didn't take long for her to fall unconscious. Rallas could hear Silver's heavy, astonished breathing in the background, but he didn't take note to it. Instead, Rallas moved to the girl's limp body and kneeled beside her once more. He reached an eager hand into her pocket but scowled as he dug his hand deeper and deeper until he finally reached the bottom. He lifted his hand out of the bag and stared at his empty palm, baffled. Everyone stared in astonishment, wondering how to react. "You lied," Rallas silently hissed.

Silver's eyes narrowed and he moved towards them. "I'm telling the truth. They're in there," he confessed. "You have to believe m-"

"You think I'm a fool?!" Rallas screeched, standing to his feet and swiftly turning to the hedgehog. He marched towards Silver and punched the hedgehog in the face, knocking him down. "Does this look like the face of a fool to you?!" He shrieked, laying another punch on the hero once he stood up again. "You thought you could get away with hiding them from me, didn't you?!" This time Silver didn't stand back up, and Rallas shoved his foot on the hedgehog's chest, digging his heel into the innocent animal's body. "Well guess what? You made one big mistake hiding the Sol Emeralds from me! Now you're going to pay. I thought about letting you and your precious princess live during my reign of this wretched place, but now I'm going to kill the both of you off!" He lifted his foot up one last time to crunch it down on the hedgehog's face, but before the action could be taken he suddenly became frozen.

Silver used his aura to freeze the villain. The hedgehog stared at Rallas with newfound determination. He violently tossed him at some of the robots, and most of them toppled over. The hedgehog raced to Blaze's limp body and gently caressed her in his arms, then he darted out of the room without hesitation.

Rallas rose to his feet in a slight daze and rubbed his head. He looked at his palm and noticed the blood that drained from his skull, then clenched his hand into a tight fist. He suddenly punched the nearest robot to him and let out a daring roar. "You idiots! Why didn't you stop them?! Follow them, now!" And with that command, the robots' shoes began to flare with fire and they sped out of the room and chased after the two culprits.

Despite being just as dazed as Rallas, Silver moved as fast as he could to get away from the machines. He was on a mission to save Blaze. He tried to wake her up by shaking the feline in his arms, but no matter what he did she didn't stir. "Please, you have to wake up, Blaze. I need to get to those Sol Emeralds. Oh, Blaze! Please wake up!" But his efforts were useless. He was only wasting his breath. The only thing he could think to do now was to follow the original plan, and that was to commence in destroying the engine. At least then the enemies wouldn't be able to harm the city. The explosion would destroy every last robot and then the ship would sink into the ocean. They were supposed to land over the forest, but this was probably a better decision anyway. The only problem now was that the Sol Emeralds were missing, and if they were somewhere on this aircraft then that was a big problem. He had to find those first.

Knowing well that he had managed to run out of harm's way, Silver scooted into a narrow hallway and crouched down to catch his breath. His eyes watched a swarm of robots pass by, not even bothering to check his hiding place. The hedgehog needed time to think things over. He could have sworn the emeralds were in Blaze's pocket, but she must have placed them somewhere else for safekeeping. Whatever her plan was, Silver wished that he was included. It only would have made things easier. If she had the emeralds, then he could have used them to power himself into his super form. That, or Rallas would've taken the emeralds and killed them both anyway. Frustrated and weary, Silver rested his back against the wall and slid down it with Blaze on the floor by his side. His eyes studied her elegant face. She was so peaceful in this state of slumber, although she was shamefully unconscious. His heart ached in pain, wondering why she would so easily wish to sacrifice herself. She was willing to risk her life for the safety of the Sol Emeralds and her kingdom, but it would have been an incredible mistake. "Blaze, you beautiful idiot," he tenderly whispered as he stroked her cheek with his fingers.

Blaze lightly mumbled and rubbed her cheek against the loving touch. Her eyes gently fluttered open. Everything in sight was blurry, but her vision soon adapted. She lazily looked around at her surroundings and realized she was in a dark corridor. "Silver?" She whimpered, lost and confused. She looked over to her side and noticed Silver staring at her. She gave a compassionate smile, warmhearted that he had saved her. However, her attitude suddenly changed, appalled by Silver's stupidity. "What were you thinking?! Why did you tell him where the emeralds were?!" She made sure to keep her voice down so that the robots wouldn't find them.

Silver's eyes narrowed in confusion, not understanding where this temper was coming from. "You didn't even have them on you, so what does it matter? I saved your life. I can't believe you almost gave your life away."

"I want to protect my people," Blaze hissed, bearing her teeth, "even if it means risking my own life."

Silver stared at her in disbelief. He didn't know how to react to her or what to say. After all that he had done throughout the years to save her and protect her, she was willing to throw away her life so easily. He almost couldn't stand to talk to her, but the truth was that she was only being selfless. Maybe it was the right thing to do to put her people before herself, but she said these things without even sparing Silver's feelings. The hedgehog was being selfish thinking this way, but he didn't want to see her get hurt. He didn't plan on coming all this way just to see her die. They were going to fight together and save the city together, but Blaze didn't have the right mindset. Silver took a deep breath and hugged his knees to his chest. "Blaze, I don't want you getting hurt. It's already painful enough to see the scar on your ankle- painful to think of what else they are capable of doing to you."

"How do you think I feel whenever I see you wounded or in pain?" She cried with her ears back, moving closer to him. "Most of the time I have to look at you covered in blood or wrapped in bandages. It's rare to see you healthy and smiling. I'm tired of seeing you like this. Sometimes I wish you would just give in, but then that would mean a terrible fate for all of our people. I just wish there was an easier way so you didn't have to get hurt all the time. I was hoping that without having me around, you would be able to fight. You wouldn't have to be concerned over me because I wouldn't be around to bring you down anymore. Silver, I just want things to be easy for you. You really worry me sometimes."

"You certainly don't act like it," Silver suddenly spat, not believing a word she spoke. But of course she spoke the truth… He was just angry. Silver was silent for a moment, not wanting to hurt her feelings. The hedgehog rose to his feet and began to head into the larger hallway. "Come on. You need to take me to the Sol Emeralds so we can get out of here and destroy this ship." But before he could take a step into the next corridor, Blaze grabbed his wrist and stopped him. He turned around to look at her, and she came to her feet as well.

"Silver… I know you don't believe me, but I've always cared about you," she started off in a light whisper. "You were my very first close friend, and you'll always be close to me. You and I grew up together. You know more secrets about me than anyone does, and I know more about you than any of your friends. Along the way throughout our friendship, I… I thought I began to feel something for you. I knew it was love, but I couldn't express it to you. It's not anything to be accepted by public society for a princess to fall in love with someone like you. They expect their princess to marry a prince, and maybe that's why I blindly fell for Rallas, because I was looking for a way out of it all. I didn't want to be torn in half by my people and my best friend. I know that was a mistake falling for him. I know I've really hurt you, and I'm sorry. Silver, I love you. I'm willing to risk my reputation if I can have your hand. If I love you, then my people will learn to love you too." A deep tint of blush ran across her face and she tipped her head downwards to avoid eye contact with her hero. "I'm so sorry for scaring and worrying you. I'm not sure what I was thinking."

Silver stared at her intently, taking everything deep into heart. Her words touched him. Blaze finally bestowed a heartfelt confession, and Silver had never felt so satisfied. He had never known how she felt about him. The hedgehog felt like an idiot for having made her feel so guilty. It wasn't her fault, and he finally came to completely understand her. Now they could love each other peacefully. He had a real reason to protect her, because he loved her and she loved him back. Blaze wouldn't be tempted to throw away her life. All of this was over. Silver would make sure to take extra care of her. He'd always take care of her, but now it would be at the risk of his own life. "I love you too…" He softly whispered. The hedgehog placed a gentle finger under her chin and lifted her head up. He could already feel his face drowning in blush as he leaned in close to her. This was it, the time to finally accept their love.

But before they could even kiss, something hard impacted the back of their heads. Everything became dark and they fell unconscious.

* * *

******Today while shopping, I found a Megaman vs Sonic comic book and I totally bought it. I never geeked out so hard in public before, haha. However, it was part 3/12, so now I have to buy all of the other parts online so I can read it. **

**Anyways, this story is so much fun to write! I'm really glad I decided to rewrite my 2009 version. It's really pumping me up, along with all of your wonderful comments. I really enjoy reading all that you have to say. Thank you for being so supportive. And happy 4th of July to all who celebrate it!**


	10. Striving on Hope

Chapter Nine: Striving on Hope

Silver's eyes fluttered open, his vision momentarily blurred. His head was pulsing in pain but he didn't have a clue why. In fact, he didn't even know where he was or how he got there. Once his vision became clear, he was able to make out his whereabouts. He was in a giant metal room, and… there was an enormous mirror in front of him. Maybe it was best to explore. But when he tried to stand up, he found himself somehow restricted. His arms were cuffed back against the arms of a steel chair. Strange. He tried to pull himself free, but the chains were too strong. Not even any of his powers worked in this room. He tried several times to use some of his levitation or telepathy or even shooting off a wild ball of fire, but nothing worked. Silver's eyes gazed around the room a bit more, scanning to see what was recognizable. The only thing above him was a bright light, and there was nothing next to him on either side, and he couldn't dream to look behind himself even if he wanted to. There was a door in the mirror, but that was all.

So he came to the conclusion that he was in an empty room filled with nothing but himself and that he somehow managed to get inside of the room and that he oddly couldn't use any of his powers to free himself. It was obvious that someone did this to him, but who? Seeing that there was no way out, the only logical thing to do was to sit there until someone arrived. In the meantime, he would do whatever it took to remember how he got there. For starters, his head was hurting, not to mention that he was oddly sore all over his body. He must have been roughhousing too much, but he would never intentionally do it. Silver would have logically fought to protect something, and more than often it's Blaze. Something must have happened to her, and most likely he was able to save her at the risk of his own life. Yes, of course that's what happened! Silver shook his head, knowing that's not what happened. It was something much worse than this. The last thing he could remember was seeing Blaze. And… she was in pain. That's right. They were aboard a ship. And on that ship were a bunch of robots. And Blaze had been at the mercy of a prince. _The_ prince. Prince Rallas!

Silver's eyes lit up in realization, now knowing exactly where he was and why he was there. Rallas captured Blaze to influence Silver to bring the Sol Emeralds, but the hedgehog didn't have them. Luckily, Silver and Blaze managed to escape, but… but they didn't. Silver was captured and Blaze was nowhere to be found. Perhaps she indeed escaped. Without him. Silver took a deep breath. That would be fine if she managed to do so. He only wanted her to be safe, after all. But Blaze wouldn't have left him. She cared about him too much, or so she said. There was no way the princess could ever think to leave the love of her life behind. A sorrowful smile crossed over Silver's lips, recalling all that Blaze said to him. It warmed his heart, and he wished he could relive that moment again just to heart those kind words fall from her lips.

"Blaze?" Silver suddenly asked, falling into a state of panic. He couldn't remember anything after that moment, and now he was desperate to know where she was. His princess wasn't in here. He could feel it. "Blaze, can you hear me?" It was pointless to yell into an empty room, but maybe she was somewhere else. Maybe she could hear him in a different room. "Blaze, if you can hear me please don't panic. I'm right here, alright?" But of course he didn't get a reply, although he still waited for one. His heart raced in fear, dying to know where she was. Blaze could have been anywhere suffering or in torment. What if they were torturing her or worse? Silver pulled with all the force that he could to free himself from the restrictions, but they were far too strong for him to handle. "Blaze, tell me where you are," the hedgehog spoke with a shivering tone. "Maybe if we work together we can get out of here. Just please tell me that you're alright. Please tell me that you're still breathing!" But just like every other time, there was no reply. There was no telling where that feline could be. That only encouraged him all the more to fight his way out to find her. He wasn't going to give up on freeing himself because of a little discouragement.

Rallas watched Silver from the other side of the mirror inside of a dark room. It was a one way window, so Silver couldn't see through it, but Rallas could see the hedgehog. He watched in disgust with a deep scowl on his face as the hero tried to free himself. It would be no use. That animal would never be able to get loose of his restraints. Rallas folded his arms behind his back and turned away from the glass, now setting his eyes on a new target. There sat Blaze chained in a chair in the center of the dark room. She would be able to see him as well once she woke up from her daze. It wasn't long before her eyes fluttered open and she looked about the room as dumbfounded as Silver was. Rallas smirked and tilted his head, amused by the beauty's astonishment. He approached her and stood by her chair, and she suddenly looked up at him in confusion. "Nice of you to join us, Blaze," Rallas hissed through a sly grin.

Blaze narrowed her eyes. It took her a while to remember how she came to be in this room, but she wasn't entirely sure. She snarled at the prince and turned her head away. "I suppose you're just going to sit here and torture me, aren't you? Ha! Go ahead!" She spat, throwing her ears down in frustration.

Rallas raised his eyebrows in amusement. His desire was, since the very beginning, to lay his hands on the Sol Emeralds. If Blaze and Silver weren't going to openly give them to him, then it was time to use new means of force. "I don't plan on harming a pretty strand of fur on your little head," he cooed, directing his gaze to the window.

Blaze followed his gaze in curiosity and gasped once seeing Silver in the opposite room. He sat there dazed and confused just as much as she was, only she could hear his voice. Silver was calling out her name and reassuring her of every little thing possible. It hurt her, honestly, that he cared about her so much and that she couldn't be in there to comfort him. "Silver, I'm here!" She called, trying to pull herself free. "I'm right here! Why won't you listen?!" He wasn't paying attention to her. He talked right over her words as if he hadn't even heard her voice.

"He can't hear you, Blaze," Rallas chuckled. He placed a delicate hand on the back of her chair and casually leaned on it. "He can't even see you. He's in a room all by himself and we're looking at him through a one way window. Your little lover looks lost without you. It's sweet, really. That hedgehog has been blindly calling your name and trying to free himself to save you ever since he woke up. He's practically obsessed with you." He suddenly turned to look down at the princess who still had her eyes locked on Silver. She looked worried and ill, knowing she couldn't do anything to save him in this current state. Rallas couldn't help but snicker as he continued on with his speech. "I still want those emeralds, Blaze, so I'm not going to let either of you go until I get them. But you're not going to give them to me so easily. I should have realized that. However, I expected him to hand them over just as easily as I expected you to. It's obvious now that neither of you are going to willingly handle them over. I want you to tell me where those emeralds are, Blaze. You have exactly three seconds to tell me where they are or else."

"Or else what?" Blaze growled through her teeth, looking up at Rallas and clenching her fists. But before she could even get an answer, the sound of electricity passed through the floor and a piercing scream of utter and sheer pain echoed throughout the aircraft. She jerked her head back to look at Silver in the separate room and her eyes widened in horror. He was being electrocuted! She watched him struggle to pull free as he shrieked and cried out in agony while being shocked. "Stop it," Blaze whispered. She immediately grew in anger and raised her voice to a bellowing command. "Stop it! You're hurting him!"

Rallas immediately pressed a button at this command that dispersed the electrifying bolts. Silver stopped his screaming and he suddenly fell limp once the electricity stopped, his head falling forward into a bow. Blaze silently watched her dear hero in desperation, hoping for him to wake up. She gripped tightly onto the edge of the arms of her chair, waiting for him to wake up. The feline felt relieved once he slightly lifted his head. The hedgehog moved his eyes and he was suddenly looking directly at her, although he couldn't see her. It was plain to be. If he had in fact seen her, then his eyes would have lightened up like they always do when she's in his vision. His eyes right now were dull and filled with defeat. Blaze's heart ached and she felt her body trembling. She was scared and nervous and she couldn't do anything to help the love of her life except watch him suffer.

"Princess," Rallas suddenly spoke, breaking the feline's concentration. "I'm still waiting to know where my emeralds are. Do you want to help your precious lover or not?" But before Blaze could even say a word, he already pressed the button again and Silver was back to gripping onto his seat to endure the electricity, screaming in outrageous pain. Rallas pressed the button once more and again Silver fell limp, breathing and gasping for air.

Blaze's eyes widened once again at this sight. If she didn't confess to the location of the emeralds, then Silver was sure to die. But if she told Rallas where the emeralds were, then her kingdom would be at stake. They would find the emeralds and destroy her beloved kingdom and torment all of the precious people inside. She was stuck in between a rock and a hard place, and there was no way around it. More importantly, she couldn't think clearly. She was so lost in her thoughts about Silver's wellbeing that she couldn't think of a way on how to get out of this situation. There had to be a way out of this somehow. She had to be able to save him without revealing the whereabouts of the Sol Emeralds. She had always been able to think of clever plans in the past, so why couldn't she do it now?

"Blaze?" Silver suddenly weakly whispered in between a cough. Blaze intently lifted her ears and leaned forward in her chair to better listen. "Blaze, are you alright? Or did they kill you…? I don't want to fight to stay alive if you're not even of the living anymore. Please, tell me if you're okay. I want to save you. I'll do whatever I can if you just say something to me. Let me know that you're alive. Please." Visible tears began to stream down his face that Blaze could clearly see from where she was sitting. If anything, that twisted and tore at her heart the most. The dedication he held towards her was absolutely heartwarming. It wasn't fair that he had to go through such pain because of her. And just when Silver was able to catch a bit of rest, Rallas had pressed the button once more and again the hero was screaming out in pain. The look on his face dug deep into Blaze's heart. With every electrocution, he became worse and worse. The energy of the bolt was so strong this time that the hedgehog suddenly stopped screaming all at once. His eyes slowly closed and his body just suddenly fell limp completely.

"Stop!" Blaze cried out. Did he pass out? Was he dead? Blaze couldn't think clearly. She was only thinking on instinct to cry out for help. "Please, stop! Stop!"

"Where are those emeralds, Blaze?!" Rallas yelled.

"In the castle!" Blaze blindly confessed. "Floor three in the left wing of the castle! Room C5; it's by a large window and there's a statue near it! The emeralds! They-they're inside that room. The code is 52874! You'll need a strand of my fur, as well! Please, just please, please, please stop! I'll tell you anything else you want to know! Please, stop!" Constant tears rolled down her red cheeks as she spoke every word and tried to free herself. She couldn't help but to loudly whimper, wondering whether Silver was even alive anymore or not.

Rallas pressed the button again that stopped the jolts from surging through Silver's veins. They were both silent for a moment before Rallas started again. "You don't need to give me any additional information. You've told me all that I needed to know," he sneered. The prince pressed another button and the restraints around Blaze's wrists suddenly released. He watched her immediately stand and race for the window. He didn't care to watch any longer. Rallas turned on his heel and exited the room, leaving the two to their dying romance.

Blaze glued herself to the window, looking desperately inside. He wasn't moving. The princess raced to the door and swung it open. Her legs bolted her to Silver's chair at a rapid pace and noticed that he had been unshackled as well as she had. The princess shook the hedgehog's limp body, trying to awaken him. "Silver, wake up! I'm alive! You don't have to die! I'm here with you!" She wasn't reaching him. He wouldn't wake up. Blaze fell to her knees and pulled him from his chair so that he would fall to his knees in front of her. They loosely sat on the floor together with Blaze's arms throw tightly around his neck. His body leaned heavily on her, having not been awake. She wept into his shoulder, realizing she had made a mistake. She waited too long and he suffered all because of her. When Blaze was in trouble, Silver wasted no time in confessing to save her. He loved her. His devotion to her was impeccable. It was a shame that she couldn't portray such love to him, and because of that lack of devotion, he was gone.

Blaze gently lied him down on his back and looked at his peaceful expression, despite the recent sufferings he had endured for her. "I'm so sorry, Silver," she sobbed, her tears falling onto his chest. She grabbed his hand and put it up to her face, wanting to feel his warm touch again. She also placed her hand against his cheek, stroking it against his soft skin. He was so warm. How she loved the warmth of his gentle touch. Blaze hopelessly buried her face into his chest, feeling the warmth of his skin on her face. Not only could she feel his warmth, but she could feel something deeper. And hear something. It was a thumping sound- the beating of his heart. He was still alive. It was slow, but he was still breathing! He wasn't dead, but he was dying. Blaze gasped and moved away from him, staring at his body with new determination. There was still hope. She could still save him.

Blaze knew exactly what she had to do. She had to perform CPR on him if she ever desired to save his life. Blaze placed her hands on Silver's chest and began pressing down on it as hard as she could, working up the air in his lungs again. She shoved and shoved and shoved on his chest, watching desperately for his eyes to open. It wasn't working. She had to go further. She had to find new means of throwing air into his lungs. But what? The only thing left was to physically blow air into his lungs, and that was by locking her lips to his. Yes, she would do exactly that to save his life. But as she neared his lips, she couldn't think to possibly do such a thing. Her cheeks lit up with the deepest shade of red, her heart racing. She had always wanted to do this, but now that she was about to, she was afraid. She didn't know what she was afraid of, but she was. Maybe too frightened that she would do it wrong or that Silver would wake up and find her disgusting. No, no, no! Silver said he loved her. He wouldn't care how the kiss was like just as long as they loved each other. This wasn't a kiss, anyway. This was saving his life.

Brushing all of that behind her, Blaze tightly closed her eyes and moved forward and glued her lips to his. The embrace was so thrilling that she could've sworn she felt her heart stop. She blew all of the air out of her lungs and into his, and suddenly it didn't feel like she was saving him anymore. She wasn't performing CPR, but she was kissing him. She was presenting a romantic embrace with the love of her life. The princess placed a gentle hand on his cheek, savoring the moment for all it was worth. If this was Silver's last moment among the living, then she wanted him to enjoy it whether he was awake or not. She slowly parted her lips from Silver's and moved away from him, realizing she had failed while looking at his resting face. He hadn't moved a muscle. Perhaps Silver had given up on life long ago, and her efforts had only gone to waste. Blaze, having worked to stay so strong, finally gave up. It was too late to save her kingdom, and it was far too late to save Silver. She failed everyone. All hope was lost. Blaze whimpered once more and let the tears fall easily from her closed eyes, knowing there was nothing else she could do.

"Blaze...?"

Blaze's eyes suddenly shot open and she looked down at the hedgehog. His eyes were barely cracked open and they lit up at the sight of her. Silver was alive. "Silver! Oh, Silver!" It was the only logical thing that Blaze could think of to say as she brought his face up to her chest and hugged him tightly around his back and neck. "Forgive me! I'm so sorry! I thought I lost you!" She loudly wept, uncaring of who heard her.

Silver tightly gripped her around her back and gently stroked her hair, doing all that he could to comfort her. "Blaze… I thought I lost you too," he coughed. He now sat up on his own and brought the princess into a loving hug, taking in the moment as deeply as he could. He couldn't think of anything to say or do except to just bask in the moment. This girl had saved his life. Silver always saved her in the past, and now it had been his turn to be the damsel. Silver let out a silent chuckle and rubbed his forehead against hers. "You saved me. I can't thank you enough. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you," he whispered, holding her cheeks in his hands. He leaned forward and kissed her to the princess' surprise. He didn't care whether or not she pulled away or whether she was offended, because he was happy. There was nothing that could ruin his moment. But she didn't move away. They were so caught up in each other's happiness that they only stayed together, enveloping themselves in the kiss. They never wanted to separate like that again, and now there was nothing to stop them.

Blaze pulled away from him and looked at him sincerely in the eyes. She was no longer crying, for she was filled with utter joy. "Silver, I love you so much. Please don't ever leave me again."

Silver smiled warmly at her and nodded. "I promise, as long as you promise me as well."

"I promise," Blaze chuckled, moving in for another kiss. The taste of his lips was unlike a taste she had ever tasted before. They were unique, and she hoped to taste his lips a million times like this before they ever came to pass their end of time.

A sudden thought crossed Blaze's mind, and she was forced to pull away again. Silver looked at her in confusion, but the princess came to answer his question before the hero could even ask what was wrong. "The Sol Emeralds. I told Rallas where they were and now they're heading in that direction. Silver, we have to stop him."

Silver concentrated on her face for a moment before nodding, and the two of them stood to their feet. Unfortunately, there wasn't any time for them to gorge themselves in such romance. They had responsibilities to ensue. The feline and the hedgehog raced out of the door, knowing what they had to do. They had to get to the castle and reach the Sol Emeralds before Rallas did, or else havoc would surely reign on the innocent kingdom. Now they were stronger than ever, engulfed in their romance. No one could stop them as long as they had each other. Their newfound love was what would encourage them to keep on fighting. They would fight for the sake of the kingdom and they would fight for the sake of each other's safety. The two lovers would never let such harm happen to the other ever again. They would fight until the end of their breath to save the one they loved, even at the risk of their own life. They didn't care what happened as long as their lover was still alive and still breathing.

As Silver and Blaze raced through the halls, they couldn't help but smile. They exchanged their sweet smiles, consumed with heartwarming love. As long as they had each other, they were unstoppable.

* * *

**I greatly enjoyed writing this chapter. It was way too cute for me. I just hope the rest of my story will be as suspenseful.**


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